The power of vulnerability in bronze

Micky Hoogendijk on art, enterprise and connection in Zuidas

She got her start as an actress, developed into an acclaimed photographer and now her monumental sculptures are a sensation in the art world. Micky Hoogendijk (born in 1970) is a multidisciplinary creative who plots her own course and has a finely tuned antenna for emotion, spatial quality and human connection. Since the beginning of 2025, her impressive bronze statue of enmeshed figures, titled The Ones, has greeted visitors at the World Trade Center Amsterdam’s Beethovenstraat entrance. The work is notable not only for its scale, but even more for its message: “We cannot function without each other.”

You call yourself an enterprising artist. What do you mean by this?

“I am a fine artist, but one with a strong business instinct. Everything that I make, I do myself. I direct a team, arrange for permits, transportation, installation – everything. So I’m a bit of a builder too, sometimes, like when putting up an eight-metre tall sculpture with six guys and three cranes. That enterprising spirit is in my blood. If you don’t get the ball rolling yourself, nothing happens.”

Your work The Ones has been erected in Zuidas. What’s it like to see your work exhibited here amid all the colossal buildings?

“The moment it was installed, everything clicked into place. It had been displayed before in my sculpture garden at home in Amsterdam and even at the Venice Biënnale, for seven months. But it’s here, in this spot, that I feel the work’s message really resonates. The Ones embodies both the individual and the collective. Zuidas has thousands of people working in glass towers, but ultimately everything comes down to the individuals inside those buildings. The soft power of this sculpture is a nice counterpart to all those rigid lines.”

What do you want people to feel when they walk past The Ones?

“I hope it elicits a little moment of recognition and reflection. It’s a large, heavy bronze sculpture, 900 kilograms, but has an almost childlike lightness. Like if a child were to draw human figures in the air. This makes it accessible. Many people have told me it touched them, which is very gratifying. You needn’t ‘understand’ everything, as long as it stirs something in you.”

How important is art in a business setting like Zuidas?

“More than anywhere! The business world is mostly about efficiency and results. Art cuts through that. It sparks dialogue, connection. People reveal more of themselves when we’re touched by something which goes beyond work. Art is also a form of leadership in this sense. It appeals to our humanity, and I believe that makes all of us better people – as colleagues, as leaders, as human beings.”

You’re from an artistic family, so how did that shape you?

“My grandfather was a well-known art dealer and I grew up surrounded by the Old Masters. Art has always had not only a financial but an emotional value for me. I believe art helps make spaces pleasant to be in as well as being an investment. But, above all, it’s a life force for me. I’ve been through a lot in my life and my work is an outlet to translate those experiences into something of beauty.”

Your work is exhibited worldwide, from Drenthe to Venice. What does that global flight feel like for you?

“My sculptures are like my children. They go out into the world, settle somewhere or relocate to a new location. It’s a very special feeling. And what’s beautiful is: so far, they work everywhere. So that speaks to the universal power of this work. The figures have no colour, no gender, no nationality. Anyone can identify with them.”

This issue of Hello Zuidas is about talent. How would you characterise your talent?

“For me, it’s all about intuition, having the courage to trust your gut. Everything I make comes out of a sort of ‘unconscious lake’, as I call it, somewhere between dream and daydream. I’ve always been driven to tell stories, be it through acting, photography or sculpture. My talent is rooted in sensing undercurrents and translating them into something tangible. But you also need vision, and definitely perseverance. And a little boldness helps too; my mum always said ‘fortune favours the bold’.”

Lastly, what is your wish for Zuidas on the art and culture front?

“More space, literally and figuratively. I think Zuidas is a place with massive potential for integrating art into everyday life. It needn’t always be big and complex. Sometimes it’s the small things that can shift your perspective, reset your thinking. I hope companies will come to see that art isn’t just something to look at, but also something with the ability to connect, enrich and advance. Not only in the moment, but for the generation after you.”

American magazine Forbes recently published a piece about Micky’s sculpture outside the World Trade Center Amsterdam. You can read the full article HERE.

Text: Romy Lange
Photography: Roxanne Wilm
Hair & make-up: Madelon, Rob Peetoom Zuidas