3 Kugeln / 3 Balls

Ansgar Nierhoff’s works are always conceptualized specifically for the intended location. He was not interested in the installation of a sculpture, so much as restructuring and redefining a space by creating new relationships between his work and the elements that form the space. Bordered on one side by a strip of grass and on the other by low curbs, the large rectangular paved surface at Creiler Platz clearly reminded the artist of an oversized playing field. There, his three massive iron balls are placed in a seemingly random constellation, like marbles or billiard balls. They are a little reminiscent of the Giant Pool Balls that Claes Oldenburg installed along the Aasee in Münster to reinterpret the ground there as a billiard table. Nierhoff, however, is not concerned with pop art and its clear relationship to everyday culture. Instead, his 3 Balls remain as hand-forged and abstract sculptural objects, set in a charged relationship with each other and their surroundings.