Iris Le Rütte, NL

Iris Le Rütte (born January 31, 1960 in Eindhoven) is a Dutch sculptor, draftsman and poet.

She studied at the Amsterdam Academy for Visual Education and the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten. During her studies, Le Rütte opted for recognizable forms, against the then prevailing fashion of abstraction, self-examination and discussion. Together with Henk Visch, Thom Puckey, Nicolas Dings and Tom Claassen, among others, she belongs to the group of artists who are committed to the new figuration, the rebirth of the narrative and the symbol in the visual arts.

In addition to small sculptures in bronze, Le Rütte makes large, monumental work, commissioned by municipalities and authorities, which can be found in many places in public space. She also designed many prizes such as the Blijvend Applaus Prize and the Heldring Prize of NRC Handelsblad. Her poetry collection ‘Ik dicht je bij me’, with drawings, reached its eighth edition in a short time.

One of her most famous monumental works is Fata Morgana, three steel dromedaries along the railway track at the Wibautstraat in Amsterdam. In 2022, a statue was placed in Goirle in honor of 5-time Olympic speed skating champion Ireen Wüst. For her series of sculptures consisting of 78 sculptures on the roof of the Amsterdam hospital OLVG, she was nominated for the Elisabeth van Thuringen Prize.

Her visual work is seen as figurative but not realistic, and fairytale-like, in which silhouettes, shadows, mirror images, human forms and animals play an important role. Work by Le Rütte has been purchased by MeesPierson in London, Museum Beelden aan Zee in Scheveningen, SHV/Paul Fentener van Vlissingen in Utrecht, Ahold and Dura Vermeer, among others.