Arie van't Riet

The Völklingen Ironworks flooded in red light
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Oliver Dietze

portrait photo arie van t riet

portrait photo arie van t riet
Copyright: Arie van't Riet

Born in 1947 in the Netherlands
Lives and works in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Works

It's All X-ray Scene 2, 2025

Scene 2 Arie vant Riet 30 cm Breite2000

Scene 2 Arie vant Riet 30 cm Breite2000
Copyright: © Arie van ’t Riet

Dutch artist Arie van 't Riet works at the intersection of science and art. This retired medical physicist creates scenes in his studio using dead plants and animals, most of which are victims of road accidents, and then X-rays them. This is how he creates his ‘biorames’, which he combines to form monumental panoramas, such as the one presented here. The X-rays of flora and fauna, some of which are digitally colourised, are assembled in full size over a total length of more than ten metres, making them particularly tangible and lifelike. Filigree structures, which would otherwise remain invisible, become visible and reveal the beauty of nature in a surprising form. Familiar scenes from nature appear as if for the first time. The animals, depicted in static poses and reduced to their essence, seem fascinating and grotesque, yet at the same time reveal the structure of nature to us.

Interview with Arie van't Riet

© Philipp Majer / Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte