The sculpture parts, 2019, refers directly to the form of the polyhedron in Albrecht Dürer’s engraving Melencolia I from 1514, one of the first depictions of an abstract form in modern times. The polyhedron is an archaic motif as well as an important mathematical figure of modernity. The sculpture’s basic shape of the triangle refers to the Mercedes star. This is also inscribed in the mirror-polished stainless steel base as a basic form. For the sculpture, the outlines of the polyhedron were duplicated and then folded and divided until a complex new, at the same time floating and stable form was created. Viewers moving around in the room can discover continuously changing, color-transparent spatial drawings.
The proportions of the sculpture are commensurate with the dimensions of the Golden Section and the ‘Modulor’ of Le Corbusier – a system of proportions underlying all of his buildings and shaping many aspects of modernist architecture. These references to a human dimension create a direct relationship between sculpture and viewer, but also between sculpture and space.
The aluminum structure was repeated with a strand of 20 mm thick neon. The transparent glass tubes are filled with neon gas, which gives a red glowing hue, or with argon gas, which produces a bright blue tone. The sculpture articulates an energetic structure, something utopian, an abstract space.
Aluminum, a light and sturdy material, has since the beginning of the 20th century shaped many of the technical innovations of modernity. It was used in the automotive industry (Silver Arrow) as well as in aircraft, in space or in laboratory facilities. The intersections of the aluminum structure were elaborately welded and sanded to make the organic, artistically designed character of the sculpture tangible. The structure is balanced, but also incorporates moments of movement (tilting, folding, rotation with a dynamic tendency in the air). The aluminum structure has been extensively worked, sanded and brushed several times to create a shiny, metallic surface that creates a strong sculptural presence. The surface deliberately shows even minimal light traces of these processing steps. The sculpture articulates a moment between perfection and handwriting.
