Norbert Kricke called this work Raumplastik – like almost all of his works. The title makes it clear that the focus of the work is space which is expressed by the sculptural form. Kricke’s structures open up to their surroundings. The round, metal bars give the appearance of a three-dimensional drawing. They concentrate into spatial planes, cross each other, make about-turns, and form arches before the rods separate once more. The resulting corporeality is reminiscent of an organically growing tree. Like a tree, the sculpture can be viewed from all sides. The curved forms contain an almost endless potential for possible spatial directions.
Previous owner: Galerie Karl Flinker, Paris; unknown
Acquisition: Reinhard Ernst Collection, Christie’s, Amsterdam, 2011
Norbert Kricke called this work Raumplastik – like almost all of his works. The title makes it clear that the focus of the work is space which is expressed by the sculptural form. Kricke’s structures open up to their surroundings. The round, metal bars give the appearance of a three-dimensional drawing. They concentrate into spatial planes, cross each other, make about-turns, and form arches before the rods separate once more. The curved forms contain an almost endless potential for possible spatial directions. In 1954, the artist explained, ‘My problem is not mass, is not figure, but it is space and movement – space and time. I do not want real space and real movement (mobile), I want to represent movement. I seek to give form to the unity of space and time.’ [1]
The Raumplastik from 1962 is part of the second phase of Norbert Kricke’s work. Where he had previously used angled, bent wire, he started to ball wire together which then spread out into space in many different directions. The resulting corporeality is reminiscent of an organically growing tree. Like a tree, the sculpture can be viewed from all sides. Each view opens up a variety of directions and directional impulses.
[1] Norbert Kricke, quoted in: Carola Giedion-Welcker: Plastik des XX. Jahrhunderts. Volumen und Raumgestaltung, Stuttgart 1955, p. 197.
