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Spoonbill (Lepelaar)

Jan van Baren

About this artwork.

Attention: in winter, The Spoonbill is protected by formwork.

On an island in the pond of the Noorderplantsoen, the stylised Spoonbill looks out over the water. Jan van Baren made the bronze bird in 1977. The Spoonbill was Van Baren's first large bronze statue. He created the artwork within the framework of the BKR (Visual Arts Regulation). Three years later, in 1980, the sculpture was on display at the outdoor exhibition Groningen Monumental in the Rosarium in Winschoten. After that time it stood for years in the artist's garden in Westeremden, and in 2000 The Spoonbill was given a place on an island within the pond of the Noorderplantsoen, near the neighbourhood pub De Bres. Because the foundation of the statue turned out to be too heavy for the subsoil, the statue was relocated in 2005 to a larger island near the Moesstraat. 
 
Jan van Baren primarily created figurative sculptures of stone, bronze, wood and combinations thereof. There are several sculptures by the artist – mostly animal figures – in the city of Groningen.

Part of route.

Location.

Moesstraat (op eilandje in de vijver)

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Facts & Figures.