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The art of transformation Jeroen Stok’s stainless steel sculptures of tulips, birds, and abstract objects are on display at dozens of public places as well as private collections in the Netherlands. Throughout his career, he has explored different techniques and materials and their interaction with light. “I always try to find the edge and go to the limit of what’s possible for that material,” he said. Jeroen attended the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, but when he learned the Transcendental Meditation technique at 19 the course of his life changed. He soon learned the TM-Sidhi program and applied to MIU. He studied art during the 1983-84 academic year and, in his spare time, he began making light fixtures out of recycled objects which led to his first installation at the MIU student gallery. After returning home, he continued to make sculptures using paper and bamboo combined with a light source; however, the fragility of the materials presented too many limitations. That’s when he turned to steel. His father owned a steel factory and he was already familiar with the material. Soon commissions for large outdoor sculptures started coming in from municipal governments and businesses. Since 1989 Jeroen has lived in a small community of Transcendental Meditation practitioners in the town of Lelystad, where he attends group practice of the TM-Sidhi program daily. In describing the influence of his long-time TM practice on his art, he said the following. “I am drawn to the light, the positive, the finer levels of things, the details. One of the themes in my work is flowers, especially the blossoming of a flower from a bud. That moment of transformation symbolizes your own self being expressed into the world.” In recent years, Jeroen’s art work has included designing steel and glass monuments and memorials. “I enjoy the contact with people, he said. “It’s emotional and rewarding to work for people who lost their loved ones. While I am serving other people, I am also enriching myself instead of doing art for my ego.” © Copyright 2018 Maharishi University of Management
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