4S, 1997
Granite
90 x 620 x 170 cm
Munich, Bob-van-Benthem-Platz 1
Christian Hinz (*1964, Birkenfeld an der Nahe, DE) creates architectural sculptures that showcase the pieces of granite he finds. Hinz's work explores the tension between dressed and undressed stone, and features references to architectural elements. The stair-like arrangement of this work's three elements is evocative of a serial perpetuation, where the same basic shape used over and over grows taller, like a building. What distinguishes this piece from an architectural structure is the counterpoint between smooth, finished surface and unhewn stone: Hinz refuses to square off blunt edges and maintains the undulating, rugged texture left by splitting a block of stone. A student of Paolozzi, Hinz seeks to lay bare the creation process in the finished work. The sculpture is created less by extracting a new form from the material than by chipping away the excess stone to reveal and accentuate the sculpture that already exists within.
4S, 1997
Granite
90 x 620 x 170 cm
detail
4S, 1997
Granite
90 x 620 x 170 cm
4S, 1997
Granite
90 x 620 x 170 cm
4S, 1997
Granite
90 x 620 x 170 cm
Untitled, 1993
Granite, glass, neon strip lights
379 x 500 x 200 cm
Munich, Bayerstrasse 34
Christian Hinz (*1964 Birkenfeld an der Nahe, DE) creates architectural sculptures in which the material he uses takes centre stage. His work focuses on natural elements that he reclaims and recasts virtually untouched in his pieces. For Hinz, who studied under Eduardo Paolozzi in Munich, sculpting means freeing the object trapped inside the block of stone; his sculptures are created by hollowing out and reducing material under the surface, producing tension between dressed and undressed stone. By rendering the creative process visible, Hinz seeks to arrive at a form that expresses in stone the formal principle abstracted from architectural elements. Central to this approach is the repetition of a form such as in the façade of a building. The illuminated sculpture "Untitled" (1993) is composed of pillars from the old brewery that was torn down to make way for the current EPO building. Hinz arranges the reclaimed elements in a serial configuration, a colonnade, illuminating the spaces in between to give the sculpture a sense of lightness, while allowing the pillars to stand out. In thus referencing the surrounding site's past, Hinz creates a bond between sculpture and location. The pillars that once had a load-bearing function in the old construction are recontextualised, their materiality thrown into relief by the illumination.
Untitled, 1993
Granite, glass, neon strip lights
379 x 500 x 200 cm
Untitled, 1993
Granite, glass, neon strip lights
379 x 500 x 200 cm
Untitled, 1993
Granite, glass, neon strip lights
379 x 500 x 200 cm
