Afrikanisch 1. Später Gruß an Willi Baumeister / African 1. Belated Greetings to Willi Baumeister

Emil Cimiotti is often regarded as an artist who translates painted forms of expression into sculpture – in this case, into cast bronze. From 1949, he studied with Otto Baum at the Stuttgart Akademie Bildhauerei, where Willi Baumeister was particularly supportive and encouraging of his turn to informalism. A good fifty years later, this sculpture is how Cimiotti paid tribute to the man who helped shape his entire body of work.
This hollow rectangular bronze structure is mounted atop a steel tube in front of the Marl Rathaus. The raw, chapped surface makes the material seem earthy, brittle, and a bit unstable. It looks as if it were blistered from the inside, almost like bubbling lava. The burst bubbles create dark holes through the undulating surface, making it possible to look more closely at the inside of the sculpture. Cimiotti greets his mentor Willi Baumeister with this primal and earthy work, which may be reminiscent of African clay architecture. It seems fitting, as the two artists are connected by an interest in abstract, but organic and intuitive design.

Reference: www.nrw-museum.de