Bank / Bench

Erwin Heerich lived and worked in Meerbusch for roughly 50 years until his death. In addition to his autonomous sculptures, he was also particularly known for the structures on the Museumsinsel Hombroich near Neuss, which can be categorized in the space between architecture and sculpture. His architectural and sculptural concepts both feature basic geometric forms and strive for an ideal balance of proportions.
Completed for his hometown during the last years of his life, Bench clearly represents the artist’s ideas regarding form. Its design is based primarily on an 18cm x 18cm square grid: the base area is made up of multiples of this measurement, while the armrests are composed of two quarter-cylinders with 18cm diameters. The result is a simple bench with perfectly balanced forms. It functions as an autonomous sculpture, while also working in harmony with the surrounding nature at the site that was chosen specifically by the artist.

Further reading:
Stadt Meerbusch (Ed.): Mataré und seine Schüler, Meerbuscher EUROGA-Kunstweg, Meerbusch 2002.
Klaus Hellmich: Büdericher Geschichts- und Kulturspaziergänge, Meerbusch 2006.
Friedhelm Ruf: Mit Emilia zu Finlays Geheimnissen, Cologne 2008.
Margot Klütsch: Meerbuscher Kunstwege, Düsseldorf 2010.