Nicolas Dings, Born 1953 in Tegelen, educated at the 'Stadsacademie' in Maastricht and the 'Rijksacademie' in Amsterdam, is intrigued by the border region between official art en folklore art, with is different aesthetics and functionalities. Exactly in those art expressions often big and small discrepancies are to be found between sordidness and distinguishedness, beautiness and ugliness, good and evil. The motives in his work are often derived from picture-language of the Renaissance, though a picture of his travels as well. Making use of the most various materials as bronze, ceramic, wood and textile- but lately drawings and paintings too- he connects the materialism with the symbolism- the physical with the spiritual in his own way. Doing this he creates his own, humoristic universe with a lot of space for associations. He holds national and international expositions and assignments in public spaces, as recently the monumental statue of Spinoza on the Zwanenburgwal in Amsterdam.