First monograph of visual artist Stefaan De Croock

‘He saves the stories that no one else remembers
He puzzles histories together into one story
And gathers portraits
Of us all.’
— Wannes Cappelle

Artist Stefaan De Croock (1982-), aka Strook, became well known for his ‘heads’ made of scrap wood. The key theme of his layered collages, sculptures and installations is, in a word, time, and is visible in every piece of the rough, patinated raw material he chooses to compose his works. Most frequently this is wood. ‘Old, weathered materials have a magical quality in my view. They contain a particular spontaneity that is impossible to recreate. The colours, the paint, the relief… they form an imprint of everything the material ever experienced. You can truly see time.’ De Croock paints with wood and sculpts with time. This book presents a selection of his ‘heads’, paintings and sculptures, offering a fascinating glimpse of his art practice over the past ten years. With texts by Thijs Demeulemeester and contributions from Wannes Cappelle, Koen Van Damme and Stephan Vanfleteren. 

59 euro – 33,6 x 24 cm – 160 pages – Hardcover – Dutch-English – ISBN 978 94 6436 603 7