Florentijn Hofman (born 16 April 1977) is a Dutch artist who creates playful urban installations like the ''Rubber Duck'' and the ''HippopoThames'', a 2014 installation on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Life and career

Hofman was born on 16 April 1977 in

Delfzijl Delfzijl (; gos, Delfsiel) is a city and former municipality with a population of 25,651 in the province of Groningen (province), Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. Delfzijl was a sluice between the Delf (canal), Delf and the Ems (riv ...

in the Netherlands. He attended primary and secondary school in Emmen. He studied arts at the

art academy An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, including fine art – especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. Art schools can offer elementary, secondary, post-seco ...

of Kampen. He earned a master's degree in art in Weissensee,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. He lives in

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and has four children.

Artwork

He mostly works on reproducing huge and large versions of everyday objects, such as laminate large flooring and flip-flops. With these sculptures, he wants to make people's lives happier. The purpose of his art is to promote the message of healing. In 2005, he created giant bird for the 2005

Crossing Border Festival Crossing Border Festival is an annual festival in The Hague, Netherlands focusing on new pop music acts and literature. It is one of the largest combined music and literature festivals in Europe. The first edition took place in 1993, as a larger ...

, where it was perched atop

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

. In 2006,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

, whose staff hoped that the statue would prevent birds from flying into the buildings glass windows. His best-known work, ''Rubber Duck'', made its debut in 2007 in

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and has since appeared in many cities around the world. In 2011 the

Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of Art is a purpose built municipal art gallery in Nada-ku, Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It was opened in 2002. The major collections of the museum are foreign and Japanese sculptures, foreign and Japanese prints, Western-style and Japanese-style ...

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, commissioned him to create another work, which became the ''Kobe Frog''. The museum had initially wanted ''Rubber Duck'' to be placed on its roof, which Hofman declined. In 2014, he introduced ''HippopoThames'' in

on the

, and ''Moon Rabbit'' in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, ahead of a land-art festival taking place in Taoyuan. In 2016, he created a floating fish sculpture in

Wuzhen Wuzhen (, Wu: Whu-tsen lit. "Wu Town") is a historic scenic town, part of Tongxiang, located in the north of Zhejiang Province, China. It lies within the triangle formed by Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai. Covering an area of , Wuzhen has a tota ...

, China, and two animal sculptures called ''PETS'' for

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Schiphol Airport Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport ( nl, Luchthaven Schiphol, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province ...

. In 2017, he created the ''Kraken'' playground in

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

, China, on a site that had been occupied by a former soviet aircraft carrier. Hofman's sculptures are temporary—even the ''Rubber Duck'', which makes appearances in cities around the world, is created anew locally. He likes this because wealthy private collectors or those who see art solely as an investment are not able to buy his sculptures. In a 2013 interview, he stated "I'm not a big believer in 'art is forever'. A lot of art is bought by people who have money. But I'm a supporter of

public art Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...

in public spaces." He is also strictly against commercialization of his art, and only sells miniature replicas, whose profits go to local nonprofits. In

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

in 2013, it was the Joyful (Mental Health) Foundation; in Pittsburgh in 2014, it was the

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust (PCT) is a nonprofit arts organization formed in 1984 to promote economic and cultural development in Downtown Pittsburgh. The "Trust" has focused its work on a 14-square block section called the Cultural District, wh ...

. Most recently, Hofman has created six giant Gouldian finches for ''Messengers of Brisbane'', a public installation bringing hope, joy and art exclusively to Brisbane during Brisbane Festival 2020. This project was produced in collaboration wit
UAP
an
Brisbane Festival

Intellectual property

Hofman's strict stance on commercialization translates to merchandise as well. He canceled an appearance in

Keelung Keelung () or Jilong () (; Hokkien POJ: '), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. The city is a part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with its neighbors, New Taipe ...

, to protest the fact that the organizers had turned the sculpture into a "commercial circus". On the other hand, he has been criticized because "reproductions do not infringe on an intellectual

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

that Hofman can't legitimately claim as his own".

Television

Hofman was one of the contestants in the twenty-first season of the Dutch television series ''Wie is de Mol?''. He was eliminated in the third episode of the show.

Gallery

Natuurmuseum.JPG, ''Crow'' at

Natural History Museum Rotterdam The (; en, Natural History Museum Rotterdam) is a natural history museum located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The museum opened in 1927. It had 44,009 visitors in 2015. History In 1922, the Rotterdam section of the Nederlandsche Natuurhistori ...

Rotterdam kunstwerk vijf papieren bootjes.jpg, ''Paper Boats'' in Rotterdam Taoyuan Land Art Festival 2014-09-12 16.29.14 (15030297448).jpg, ''Moon Rabbit'' at Taoyuan, 2014 HippopoThames.JPG, ''HippopoThames'' in London, 2014 Beehold_Floriade.jpg, ''Beehold'' at

Floriade 2022 Floriade Expo Amsterdam - Almere 2022 was a Dutch horticultural exposition held in Almere, Netherlands. It is the seventh Floriade, held from 14 April to 9 October 2022. On 15 November 2017, Floriade Expo 2022 was officially recognized as a hort ...

in Almere, Netherlands, 2022

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hofman, Florentijn 1977 births Living people Dutch contemporary artists Dutch installation artists People from Delfzijl