Carel Lanters (Didam, February 18, 1955) is a Dutch visual artist working at the intersection of sculpture, performance, photography, and sound. His practice encompasses both autonomous work—such as drawings, sculptures, and acoustic performances—as well as monumental art in public spaces and the curation of group exhibitions.
Lanters studied at the Academy of Art and Industry in Enschede, where he was shaped by artists such as Ad Gerritsen and Sigurdur Gudmundsson. He developed an interdisciplinary approach early on, merging image, sound, and perception. An early benchmark was his graduation project Toonbeelden (1981), in which hollow casts of tree branches functioned as playable wind instruments—a recurring motif in his oeuvre.
In his work, Lanters uses existing forms from nature and culture as a starting point. By combining, enlarging, or translating objects into other materials—such as bronze, iron, wood, polystyrene, and glass—new meanings and perceptual possibilities emerge. His work balances between recognition and alienation, between the visual and the auditory. A well-known example is the life-sized polystyrene sculpture from 1993, based on a bottle in the shape of a Spanish dancer, which was displayed on a rotating pedestal and was included in the ABN AMRO Art Collection.
Lanters' monumental works can be found in various locations throughout the Netherlands. His attention to context and participation is characteristic: local residents or passersby are regularly actively involved in the creation of the work, thus interweaving art and the everyday environment.
In addition to his visual work, Lanters is active as a performer. He plays self-made wind instruments and works with sound as a spatial and sculptural element. Photography is also part of his practice, including experiments with stereoscopy and, since 2015, extensive use of the pinhole camera, often in collaboration with other artists.
From 2006 to 2014, Carel Lanters taught sculpture at ArtEZ University of the Arts in Arnhem. He lives and works in Arnhem.
