...and life just goes on...

...and life just goes on... is an ochre bronze sculpture by English artist Helen Frik, completed in 1992. It belongs to Utrecht’s public sculpture route along the Maliebaan. Frik completed the work as her first finished public outdoor commission, using bronze for a form that joins abstraction with observation. Look closely for familiar shapes within the sculpture. The lower mass rises into two flattened spherical forms, while dog paws, a pig’s snout, and a bird’s nest emerge. These details suggest the variety and abundance of life. The Maliebaan project places bronze works by female artists among evenly spaced elms and linden trees. Utrecht’s avenue began as a seventeenth-century student playing field. The sculpture connects Helen Frik’s practice with Utrecht’s public art and the continuing history of women in Dutch sculpture. Frik also works as a painter, draughtswoman, and photographer. Her practice spans sculpture, painting, drawing, and photography, linking the outdoor work with a wider visual practice.