Elephant Boss, 2023

Theo Mackaay  

Theo Mackaay was born in 1950 in Utrecht. After training as a stonemason in Utrecht, he studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy from 1971 to 1976 and at the Rijksacademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam from 1976 to 1978. Mackaay starts from recognizable forms: women, men and animals. But all with some kind of reference to their primal form. Archetypal motifs such as warriors, women, horses, archers, love couples, created with a very personal signature. The result is always surprising and convincing Mackaay. As an example of that form of expression, you undoubtedly know the Golden Calf, the grand prize of the Dutch Film Festival, which was designed by Mackaay in 1980 at the behest of Jos Stelling, film director and initiator of the festival. Since then, of course, it has evolved enormously, but the basic characteristics have remained?The Golden Calf, the grand prize of the Netherlands Film Festival, was designed in 1980 by Utrecht-based visual artist Theo Mackaay at the behest of Jos Stelling, film director and initiator of the festival. Since 1981, this award has been presented annually during the festival to Dutch filmmakers, screenwriters, producers, actors and actresses. The sculpture is 33 cm high and cast in bronze.Sculptor with a soulTheo Mackaay is over 60 years old and those who know him a little better know that he has already lived three lives. He has filled his life to date with an unquenchable energy. High peaks and deep valleys, that seems to be part and parcel of an artist's life. But even an artist is entitled to some degree of peace in his life, especially as he gets older. It seems that Mackaay has found his peace.It has been a battle between two hemispheres, between the wild artist beast and the now quiet, contemplative sculptor. The latter won! Not only did the man Mackaay change, his work changed too. Large sturdy expressionist bronzes and natural stone sculptures in which women and animals were his favorite subjects changed to touching, sensitive bronze sculptures. In Mackaay's earlier work the influence of great masters of the past was visibly present, think of Marino Marini and Ossip Zadkine. Now it seems that the artist has been able to let go of the influences of the past. That now, in this phase of his life, he has found his own form language, after all the peaks, valleys and wanderings. All sculptures are cast in a limited edition. Three copies are cast of large sculptures, six of medium-sized ones and eight of the smallest. After casting, the molds are destroyed, so the buyer has the absolute guarantee of a certain edition.