From Cobra to New Babylon&nbsp;

Constant Nieuwenhuys (Amsterdam 1920 – Utrecht 2005) was one of the most influential Dutch artists of the twentieth century. He co-founded Cobra (1948–1951), the international collective of artists that brought a radical shift to painting in the post-war years. In the early 1950s, he began developing spatial constructions, laying the groundwork for his visionary urban project New Babylon.&nbsp;

During this period, Constant’s work became increasingly abstract. A striking example of this transition is the IJhorst side table (1954), a design that marks a turning point in his oeuvre: the move from the expressive Cobra years towards the ambitious, utopian vision of New Babylon.&nbsp;

For Constant, art was never merely about beauty, it was an expression of a profound awareness of life. In his pursuit of renewal, he sought a new abstract visual language. He created numerous constructions, conceived both as autonomous sculptures and as architectural models. The soldering iron, alongside the paintbrush, became his most important tool. By the late 1950s, these constructions were integrated into New Babylon, a conceptual and utopian vision of how society and the urban environment of the future might take shape.&nbsp;

Meet Constant Nieuwenhuys

Meet
Constant Nieuwenhuys