Olivier Strebelle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Olivier Strebelle
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Belgian sculptor Olivier Strebelle talks with a group of American writers in his home/studio outside Brussels in January 2009.
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| Born | 20 January 1927 |
| Died | 29 July 2017 (aged 90) |
| Style | bronze sculptures |
Olivier Strebelle (born January 20, 1927 – died July 29, 2017) was a famous Belgian sculptor. He was born in Brussels, Belgium.
Strebelle created many large sculptures, often made of bronze. You can find his artworks in public places in Brussels and in many other countries. These include Germany, Israel, Italy, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United States.
He was an active artist for over 65 years. His sculptures are found in private collections and public spaces all around the world. Olivier Strebelle's art style changed over time. It went from strong, natural abstract shapes to the flowing lines seen in his work called Athletes' Alley. This sculpture is located at the site of the Beijing Olympic Games.
One of his well-known sculptures is The Abduction of Europa. This artwork has been on display in the Square of Europe in Moscow since September 2002.
Sculpting Athletes' Alley
Athletes' Alley is a large sculpture that was meant to be a special gift from Belgium to the city of Beijing. It was planned to be ready for the 2008 Summer Olympics, but it was finished shortly after the games ended. This impressive artwork cost over 5 million euros to create.
The sculpture is an abstract design, meaning it doesn't look like a real object. It is made of five shiny, tube-shaped pieces of stainless steel. These pieces reach up to 20 meters (about 65 feet) high and stretch for 100 meters (about 328 feet) in length. The entire sculpture weighs 120 tons! Its design is meant to remind people of the famous Olympic rings.
Creating Athletes' Alley involved a lot of teamwork and technology. Experts from different fields worked together. This included the image laboratory at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and Tsinghua University in China. A French engineering company, C&E Ingénierie, helped with the metal structure. A German software company, Sofistik, also played a role in the project.
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