Abstufungen / Graduations

Ansgar Nierhoff’s sculptures seem provocatively simple at first glance, as they are typically made up of a few geometric elements that are seemingly randomly arranged. This two-part sculpture in Mülheim also requires closer observation within the context of the surrounding landscape and buildings. It is made up of two long steel plates with steps along the bottom. The plates are positioned in such a way that the gently sloping landscape has clear role in shaping the sculpture.
One of the steel elements is positioned on an incline, forming a rising diagonal line that offsets the nearby hospital building. Located further away from the hospital, the second element creates a horizontal line that extends perfectly parallel to the building.
The sculptural elements are installed without any sort of base and are connected directly to the lawn, allowing the terrain and building structures to emerge around them more clearly. The level horizontal lines that define the building as a cultural space are counteracted by the asymmetry of the diagonal element. At the same time, the horizontal element seems to geometrically map out the park’s otherwise organically shaped natural spaces.

Further reading:
Public Art Ruhr. Die Metropole Ruhr und die Kunst im öffentlichen Raum. Eds. Walter Smerling and Ferdinand Ulrich on behalf of the RuhrKunstMuseen, Cologne 2012, ISBN 978-3-8632-134-0, pp. 132–133.


Ansgar Nierhoff

1941
geboren in Meschede; gestorben 2010 in Köln.
1960
Gesellenbrief als Maurer.
1964
Allgemeine Hochschulreife an der Frankenberger Edertalschule.
1964–1969
Kunststudium an der Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Meisterschüler von Norbert Kricke. Zu seinen weiteren Lehrern gehörten Joseph Fassbender und der Kunsthistoriker Eduard Trier.
1965
Umzug nach Köln.
1977
Teilnahme an der documenta 6 in Kassel.
1983
Zeitweise Arbeit als Assistent von George Rickey in dessen New Yorker Atelier.
1986
Gastprofessor an der Gesamthochschule Kassel.
1988–2008
Professor an der Akademie für Bildende Künste der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz in Mainz.
2000
August Macke Preis.
Ansgar Nierhoff gilt in der Kunstgeschichte als Pionier der Edelstahlplastik.

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Location
Mülheim an der Ruhr
Mülheim an der Ruhr, Wertgasse
Artist
Ansgar Nierhoff
Year
1985
Size
Each part: length 10 m, height 1.6 m
Material
Corten steel
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