PER KIRKEBY (1938-2018)

Bogen er udgivet i forbindelse med en udstilling i Neuer Berliner Kunstverein med skulpturtegninger fra perioden 1981 til 2000. Udstillingen var afslutningen på Kirkebys store udsmykning af Bundesrat i Berlin med 8 "Attica" bronzeskulpturer. Per Kirkeby kenderen Lars Morell gennemgår et bredt udsnit af Kirkebys skulpturtegninger og sætter dem i relation til hans bronzer. 

Art in the Bundesrat

In October 1997 the Bundesrat’s Art Advisory Council voted to hold a restricted competition to select artworks for the Bundesrat’s new premises. Ten famous international artists were invited to make proposals for certain parts of the building. The prize jury agreed that sculptures by Danish artist Per Kirkeby should be placed in the parapet area. They also gave the go-ahead for Berlin-based artist Rebecca Horn’s design for the foyer.

Per Kirkeby’s bronze sculptures

Before the Second World War classicist sculptures adorned the roof of the building on Leipziger Straße. The figures created by Otto Lessing, symbolising farming, the military, art, science and economics, formed an allegorical ensemble together with the tympanum relief.

A conscious decision was taken not to recreate the parapet sculptures destroyed in the war. This meant that the vacant slots on the roof offered scope for a new mode of artistic expression. Per Kirkeby’s idea for the parapet area convinced the jury choosing art in the Bundesrat’s restricted competition – even although the artist had not submitted any models. Instead Kirkeby wrote three letters to the Bundesrat, explaining that he was counting on the client’s confidence in his artistic skills. The artist’s concept of developing the figures in a dialogue with the users and the architect appealed to the Art Advisory Council.

Kirkeby created eight abstract sculptures in bronze with a black patina coating; these recall faces and are an eye-catching feature on the main façade, enlivening the roof area. Two massive bronze panels, each weighing 2.5 tons, flank the gable. They evoke outlines of human figures and tree trunks. Per Kirkeby believes that viewers looking at these abstract art works should come up with their own personal interpretations of the pieces. The sculptures, symbolising modernity, contrast with the historical architecture of the Bundesrat building.