Emiel Uytterhoeven was born in Beerzel in 1951. After an art education in Belgium, he immersed himself in the technical side of marble working in Carrara, Italy. He also made several study trips within Europe, the United States and Japan. His talent as a sculptor is soon admired, he won several prizes in Antwerp, Israel and Taiwan. He approaches his own work and technique as follows: “As a sculptor I do not force my idea of form arbitrarily, I do not force the material into a representation of something foreign to the individuality of the matter. On the contrary, I make use of and respect the primary properties of the granite. The concept of the image and its realization (culture) is done only by making use of the intrinsic properties of the granite: its way of splitting and the structure of the split surface (nature).”
According to the artist’s philosophy, there is life in every stone, but his job is to bring this life to the surface. There is always an abstract result, in which he respects the natural character of the stone and contextual elements. Even where the artist refines the spontaneously (naturally) created form (culture), there is a strong reminiscence of the natural appearance of the material: the eroded surface of rocks by the action of sand, wind and water and smooth, shiny boulders in a river. His sculptures are often combined with water streams, which emphasizes the natural character even more. Monumental works by him are present in public locations in various towns and villages.