Besuch in Rom IV / Visit to Rome IV

Experimenting with different stages of abstraction, stone sculptor Michael Schoenholtz’s body of work consistently features analogies between architecture and the human body. The same holds true for his Visit to Rome series of sculptures, which he began during a guest residency at the Villa Massimo. Made of Carrera marble, body fragments, legs, a torso, and a head are clearly visible in the first three sculptures from this group of works. In this sculpture, the fourth work in the series, a bodily reference can only be found if you consciously seek it out. Six block-like elements with geometric internal structures, slits, and cutouts, are stacked on top of each other to form a vertical rectangular shape. The forms are reminiscent of architectural structures, part of a building, or even a group of several dwellings. Abstract criteria are in the foreground, such as relationships between the individual forms, harmony, and equilibrium, creating a balanced overall composition.

Further reading:
StadtKunstFührer: Skulpturen im Duisburger Stadtraum, ed. by the Stiftung Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg 2012, pp. 32/33.