Jan Robert Leegte, born 1973, lives and works in Amsterdam. He studied architecture at the Technical University, Delft in 1992, and continued his studies until graduating in sculpture, installation and computer work at the Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam in 1999.

Leegte has a strong focus on deconstructing the architectural and sculptural experience. In the tradition of conceptual sculptors as Donald Judd and Bruce Naumann, Leegte tries to understand and expand the physical experience. A central tool in his work is the computer. As the computer interface has create an interactive space used by billions daily, the concept of physicality is slowly being expanded. By introducing the screen material back in the spatial context, Leegte tries to have the viewer question the perception of material and space. Leegte started exploring the sculptural properties of internet browsers and software in general in 1997, using buttons, scrollbars, and table borders in online installations; in earlier sculptural works he used unusual materials, for instance creating walls from sheets of Xerox copy paper or large slabs of brown packing paper. The various elements of the browser window appear to have a striking physical reality, gained through user familiarity, interactivity and animation. Most people consider the scrollbar to be a virtual object, not weighted with any realworld signifi cance, but in use it triggers reactions such as frustration, anger, and boredom-induced clicking. Reactions like these suggest a subconscious acceptance of the inherent ”reality” of these objects.

Jan Robert Leegte exhibits in MR.xpo18 the results of his residency