About HVDB Gates & The Liminal Gate Company

Hans Van de Bovenkamp (HVDB) has produced monumental sculptures for more than 50 years, having completed over 200 private commissions. His work is held in the collections of both public and private organizations within the civic realm, as well as at private residences. While his sculpture follows the abstract style of the 10th Street Movement of the 60s in NYC, he has recently fused several of his past series into this completely new body of work:  sculptures with both form and function. The gates leverage Van de Bovenkamp’s ability to create meaningful forms when working in the round, coupled with his celebrated material fluidity. (www.vandebovenkamp.com)

Hans’s awareness of, and affinity for, the gate stems from his early childhood in Holland.  In the Netherlands, cow pastures are usually separated by trenches rather than fences.  The trenches served both to contain the cows and dry the fields, so grass could grow in areas often below sea level.  Every field had to have an access point, whether to move the cows between fields or bring in equipment to maintain the land.  Each of these access points are controlled by a gate.  Consequently, when looking across a series of fields there are times when you only see dozens of gates.  More interestingly, what he realized was that what a gate looked like from a distance, in both form and composition, altered as he got closer.  This made a lifelong impression on the soon to be artist.
 
Thirty years ago, Hans made his first gate for his own house and studio in Tillson, NY.  He created it to serve multiple purposes.  First, it gave his property a unique and clear identity, more clear than any street number.  Second, when wanting privacy to provide uninterrupted creative time, he could close the gate, subtly informing visitors that they needed to be announced before visiting.  Finally, it offered an introduction to his personal aesthetic.
 
Gates are usually a transition point from a public to a private space, making them a “liminal” point, a point of transformation.    Hans has always felt, for those individuals who want a unique introduction to their personal space (home, property or place of business), there is no better symbol than that of a gate.  The gate is in effect the embrace of the owner to welcome their visitors to the environment they have created.
 
In continuing to broaden his creative portfolio, Van de Bovenkamp has decided that both the element of motion in his art, as well as the utilitarian nature of a gate, makes this new endeavor one of his most practical and interesting.  To make the gates function with state of the art features, Hans has teamed up with the East Hampton Gate Company to ensure the gates functionally are superior to any other gate available.  Hence we introduce you to The Liminal Gate Company.