Herma de Wit - Orobio de Castro’s works, her bronze sculptures and objects, drawings, etchings and monotypes, are silent witnesses to her deep personal connection with nature. Her intense studies of mainly isolated fragments of flora reveal the emotional labor of marvel and interpretation that is involved in the poetic hint of abstraction the artist reaches for. A visual poetry that speaks of a mysterious balance between power and fragility, between the eternal and the ephemeral.
Herma’s subjects - a branche, a leaf and stem, a cluster of flowers and buds or just a seed – are the precious souvenirs of a well-traveled life, a collection that keeps expanding and provides the artist with a lavish source for wonder. Her steadily growing and ever evolving body of work, ranging from man-high enlargements to life size and more intimately scaled representations in either 2D or 3D, is testament to the artist’s obsession. Shrouded in the stillness that she seeks to transmit via her art, is a portraiture of human emotions best understood in the absence of language.
Herma de Wit - Orobio de Castro studied fashion design, both at a technical school and at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, and started her artistic career working as a fashion designer in Paris, Milan and Antwerpen before heading her own high-end label from Amsterdam. Since 1999 she focusses solely on her vocation as a fine artist. Largely self-taught in the techniques she applies, Herma works closely together with workshops and craftsmen like welders and bronze casters to master her skills and realize her artistic visions.
The artist has had two books of her work published; ‘Herma de Wit - Orobio de Castro, Sculptures and Drawings’ (2019) and 'FORCE OF NATURE’ (2021).
CV
2024 Solo exhibition at STUDIO23. May 2024, Gent, BE
2022 Solo exhibition monotypes and sculptures at KYAS ART SALON.
24 Sep— 22 Oct 2022, Amsterdam, NL
2022 Launch Origin at Beeldentuin Ravesteyn. May 2022 — Jun 2023,
Heenvliet NL,
2022 Book ‘Force of Nature’ exhibited in an exhibition featuring the winners of the
AIGA 50 Books | 50 Covers of 2021 and this years Most Beautiful Swiss Books. Sep 2022, The Vermont College of Fine Arts , Montpelier, USA
2022 AIGA 50 Books | 50 Covers of 2021, Cover and Book winner. Jun 2022, New York City, USA
2022 Represented by: Garde DALLAS, Habachy Designs, Atlanta, Galerie Philia,
New York City, USA
2022 Group exhibition Beeldentuin Ravesteyn. 20 May — 12 Jun, Heenvliet, NL
2021 PAN Amsterdam, Bruijstens Modern Art 13-21 Nov, 2021
2021 Participant Masterly The Hague 21-24 Oct, The Hague
2021 Exhibition monotypes, lecture, artist dinner 3-5 Sept, StadsSalon,
Amsterdam
2021 Sculptures at Habachy, Atlanta, USA
2021 Sculptures at GARDE, LA - Dallas, USA
2021 Book Force of Nature, distributor: IDEA Books
2020 Kunsthandel P. de Boer June 17 - July 10, Herengracht 512, Amsterdam
2019 Sculptures at Graanmarkt 13, Antwerp
2019 PAN Amsterdam Art, Antique and Design Fair
Bruijstens Modern Art Nov 24- Dec 1, 2019
2019 Buddha belly donated to the Daan Theeuwes Centre for Intensive
Neurorehabilitation, Woerden Oct. 18, 2019
2019 Participant Masterly The Hague, The Hague
2019 Book Herma de Wit - Orobio de Castro, Sculptures and Drawings has been added to the Rijks Museum library, Amsterdam
2019 Solo show 'STILL' and book launch Herma de Wit - Orobio de Castro,
Sculptures and Drawings June 20-23 , UNFOLD Prinsengracht 715,
Amsterdam
2019 Book Herma de Wit - Orobio de Castro, Sculptures and Drawings has been added to the Benesse house library, Naoshima Japan. April, 2019
2019 Book launch Herma de Wit - Orobio de Castro, Sculptures and Drawings
31st of January, Antwerp at architect Vincent Van Duysen
2018 Garden sculpture exposed at The Building, Amsterdam
2018 Sculptures at Graanmarkt 13, Antwerp
2017 Exhibit Rijksstudioaward 2017, Amsterdam ‘Bunch of asparagus’
Still Life Adriaen Coorte 1697
2016 Summer garden exhibition John Halvemaan Buitenveldert, Amsterdam
2015 Participation Open Garden Days Amsterdam 19th, 20th
and 21st of June 2015
2015 Participation ARTZUID International Sculpture Route, Amsterdam
2015 ELLE DECORATION article Q&A Herma de Wit
2014 Participation ‘Kunst in duin’ Landgoed & Kasteel Keukenhof, Lisse
2014 Exhibition ‘SCULPTURES and LIGHTOBJECT’. Private garden,
Amsterdam
2013 Various works presented at the house of More Than Classic
Woonbeurs Rai, Amsterdam
2013 Summer Garden exhibition FLOWER sculptures. Private garden,
Amsterdam
2013 Exhibition ‘ART MEETS DESIGN’ DIS STUDIO, Amsterdam
2012 Participation ‘Kunst in duin’, Noordwijk.
2012 Exhibition DJ DE BOER HUISARTS Amsterdam
2011 Participate in Charity Event Ninos de Guatamala at FIFTEEN, Amsterdam
2011 Participation ‘Kunst in duin’ Noordwijk
2010 AMEUBLEMENT - DECORATION, peintures - sculptures, Arnold
Otten, Lage Mierde, The Netherlands
2009 Exhibition Buitenplaats Wester - Amstel, Amstelveen
2008 Exhibition at private studio, Amsterdam
2007 Exhibition at Juul van den Heuvel, Frans Halsstraat, Amsterdam
2002 - 2006 Drawing / painting lessons at Sierd Dallinga - Juul van den Heuvel,
Amsterdam
1997- 2002 Ceramic lessons at Marjan de Voogd, Amsterdam
1997 Designer Just B. knit collection, Amsterdam
1995 - 1996 Designer Scapa of Scotland, Anvers, Belgium
1989 – 1995 Own label; ‘HERMA DE WIT’, couture tailor-made women Studio
Amsterdam
1984 – 1989 Freelance designer for i.a. Trussardi, Milan - F&M Girbaud, Paris
1984 – 1986 Teacher at Vogue Fashion Academy, Amsterdam
1979 – 1983 Gerrit Rietveld Academy Amsterdam, Fashion department
1977 – 1978 Fashion academy 'de Schans', Amsterdam
1976 – 1977 Technical school for mode en kleding, Utrecht