Ein leichtes Spiel / An Easy Game

It’s unlikely that the title An Easy Game would be in reference to the four massive forged steel elements found here. Instead, it must have to do with the fragile balance that unites the sculptures, as well as the easy and almost random seeming overall spatial design. Surrounded by multi-story buildings, the artist installed a slightly elevated square paved area in the middle of the public space. This paved area is bordered and subdivided into nine smaller inner squares with steel strips. On top of the square, a circle made of steel plates is divided into two halves. The axis formed between the halves is slightly out of line with the square grid of the ground beneath it.
The artist placed a forged sphere on the other end of the square, which could also be seen as a polyhedron. Such spheres are characteristic of Nierhoff’s work and are made with a specially developed process that entails hammering a cube countless times until it creates a sphere out of numerous small flat surfaces.
Evidence of a similar process is visible along the tall stele that is situated outside of the square, which is also the fourth element of the sculpture group. The basic geometric shapes – rectangle, square, and circle – are represented in different dimensions in the space as a surface, a line, and a mass. The viewer can create complex connections between these elements, which nonetheless always feature perfect balance and equilibrium.