Frans Klerkx was born in 1932 in Mill (N.Br.). Almost all of his life he was intensively involved in art philosophy and painted both abstract and figurative. In 1997 he started folding designs for abstract images with the geometry and the fold as essential elements. He had some of his paper folds executed and various Corten steel and aluminum sculptures can now be found in public spaces (Gennep, Mill) and in private collections at home and abroad. When asked what exactly art is, he likes to quote the English artist/philosopher Frank Avray Wilson (1914-2009): 'Art is the universal and timeless means of reconciling matter and spirit.'
Over the past twenty-five years, Klerkx (Mill, 1932) has created an extensive oeuvre consisting of designs (drawings to scale) and models in paper and cardboard. The starting point is a sheet of paper in A4 (21x29.7cm) format, a pencil, a ruler, a cutting knife and an extremely refined folding technique developed by himself. Klerkx has his models produced industrially in various sheet materials (stainless steel, corten steel, aluminum). The final work of art usually consists of two or more identical, geometric shapes and derives its strength and independence from the original fold, which functions as a binding and is therefore essential. The minimalist simplicity of Klerkx's creations is a conscious choice and explains why everything that is not essential is avoided.