Wooden sculpture of 23 bars put side by side
179 x 182,5 x 9,5 cm (70,4 x 71,8 x 3,7 in)

Accompanied by a photograph of the work, signed by the artist on verso.

PROVENANCE: Private collection Deecke, Berlin.

EXHIBITION: Collection Neues Museum Weserburg, Bremen.

The trained mason Ulrich Rückriem expanded his palette of materials in the late 1970s and began to experiment with granite, dolomite rocks, wood and iron. As a sculptor Rückriem is self-taught, which gives him a great deal of freedom opposed to the traditional values. He subsumes his intentions the following: "The material, its shape, size and characteristic values are decisive for my work, as it limits my artistic creation. Work processes must become traceable and may not be wiped away by others afterwards. My alterations of the material define the object itself and its relevance for its new location." (translation of quote after: Kritisches Lexikon der Gegenwartskunst, Munich 1988, p. 6). This concept of the sculpting process can also be observed in this work. Rückriem assigned new wooden bars that are adjusted to the to the old one he had found, thus creating a new unity in form of a square, its edge length results from the measurements of the old wooden bar. [SM].