The Form-finding Process

The formal principle pursued by the artist is based on his precise study of Greek sculpture. The proportions, formal correspondences and algorithms found therein are still valid for him today and he consciously applies these almost engineer-like rules in his works. In relation to his work, he speaks of a “system of correspondences”, meaning that it is based on a formal principle that appears again and again and to which all forms adhere. According to the artist, the sculpture is inscribed with an “algorithm in three-dimensional form” that makes any arbitrariness in the design impossible. Only once all the parts of the sculpture have been thoroughly composed does the intended complex system emerge, and with it a kind of abstraction occurs. One can therefore no longer speak of realism in the conventional sense. The existing algorithm is the meta level, which appears like a blueprint in the work.

Although the sculpture depicts the figures in a realistic manner, the composition is based on the geometric shape of the triangle as well as on curve and counter-curve – a compositional technique repeatedly found in classical art. The rhythm of the forms is more important here than a precise, true-to-life rendering of anatomy. Again and again, attentive viewers can find the defining shape of the triangle and the compositional visual axes in the sculpture. Thus the basic formal principle applied by the artist is discernible.

Interestingly, the artist has executed some parts of the sculpture in greater detail, while treating the surface of the stone in a rougher way in others. Hence, when circling the sculpture, interesting points of view emerge and one constantly discovers “new correspondences” and areas of tension in the work.

The sculpture is a skillful interplay of volume and surface, proportions and rhythm, light and materiality and axes, the qualities of which create the liveliness and validity of the form.

Text: Thomas Redl