Berlin | ArtRegion: Mitte

Buchmann Galerie

Wilhelm Mundt: AREIT IST DAS HALBE LEBEN

4. November 2022 – 21. Januar 2023

„Areit ist das halbe Leben…“ (Worck is just half the life…), a deliberately misspelled exhibition, presents a cross-section of the current production of the German sculptor Wilhelm Mundt (b. 1959, Grevenbroich). Through his extensive body of work, Mundt deals with sculptures that negotiate some of the most pressing issues of our times. His best-known group of works, Trashstones, are elegant biomorphic sculptures whose form is determined by their content – their interiors consist of studio waste, artfully wrapped in coloured polyester, aluminium or bronze.

Thus, the end form of each Trashstone only hints at its interior content; the wrapped up waste and trash remain visible only in their determination of the final form, the works in themselves containing more in their biomorphic beauty than the eye can see. Essential components of the work – the form-giving interior, its material as well as their metaphorical content – remain hidden from view, yet still contributing to the overall effect. Consequently, the discrepancy between the visible, the shiny, colourful and softly modulated outer form and their interior lends these sculptures their daunting quality, prompting a closer investigation of the hidden depths that lay within.

Combining aesthetics and ethics, irony and seriousness, the Trashstone sculptures are a cryptic commentary on one of the most pressing ecological issues today. Formally reminiscent of erratic boulders, they represent a radical development of abstract sculpture, drawing on the inspiration of artists such as Hans Arp and Barbara Hepworth. Since their first appearance in 1989, individual Trashstones have been numbered in three digits, and the total number of works in the series has grown to almost 800, thus embedding each one in a continuous series, reminiscent of serial and industrial production processes – yet still preserving a uniqueness in shape and colour.

In the current exhibition, some works explore the border between painting and sculpture through a painterly line on the surface of the sculpture. A line wraps itself around the stone, raising questions about its beginning and end, and this „inscription“ is seen most clearly in the largest work, weighing 1.3 tons. The painterly-looking ductus of this piece is also determined by its production process, prompting the viewer to think about the interplay between the two disciplines.