Jan Goossen

Jan Goossen (1937 in Maracaibo, Venezuela – 2005 in Goes, Netherlands) was a Dutch sculptor.

Goossen was born in Maracaibo to Dutch parents. He followed his studies at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam (1956–1961), and achieved an architecture bachelor's degree at the Heald College of Engineering of San Francisco (1965–1967). In addition he received several stipendia to travel abroad (Maison Descartes Paris 1961-2, finalist Zellerbach competition San Francisco 1965, Stipendium C.R.M. 1973, and travel grant 1978). During his training period, he specialised as sculptor, designer and draftsman.

Goossen’s work can be defined as non-figurative, geometric and abstract, with a focus on people and their relationship with the industrial world. As a result, the pieces display always intricate plays of horizontal and vertical lines, which create spatial tissues where the light penetrates. All these angularities are emphasized by the hard colours like bright red that Goossen uses.

The sculptures from Goossen, Jan can be seen in the Netherlands and in the United States. His first assignment was a relief at the Wells Fargo Bank, San Francisco (1966), and next in the same city a sculptural wall in the Golden Gate Center (1967). Back in the Netherlands, he worked for the aged care home of Blaricum and for the Shell-laboratorium of Rijswijk (1969). After finishing a commission for Lisse (1970), he produced one of the most controversial of his pieces: the sculpture at the Spui 'Piramide' (1976). The pyramidal shape of the piece looked for providing the walker with a roof under which sit down and rest, but the aesthetic of the piece led to discontent in the neighbourhood and it was finally re-placed to the outskirts of the city (1987) to the Gaasperplaspark. More assignments succeeded (Gemeente, Amsterdam, 1972; Royal Building Service, Zuidwolde, 1974),'East Jesus County Revisited' next to the Ir. Otten bad in Eindhoven (1975), 'Septum, in gesprek met de vorigen' Stadswandelpark Eindhoven (1982),'Running Squares' for Rosmalen (1988). The fountain-like sculpture next to the Maas’ bridge in Heusden 'Maasbeeld' was finished in 1994, 'Tree of Learning'(1998) in front of the Carolus Borromeus College in Helmond and his last piece 'Donjon' (2002) you can find in Vlijmen (Heusden) in front of the Rabobank.

The artist worked as well as lecturer in the Mollerinstituut in Tilburg (1976–1989), and became a member of the B.B.K. ’69 Amsterdam and of the Dutch Circle of Sculptors Amsterdam (1975–1981). He married twice, the second time with the ceramist artist Yvette Lardinois. Jan Goossen died on cancer in the hospital of Goes on 1 January 2005.