Granite stones slit crosswise, colored golden on the inside and glowing effectively from the apparently naturally grown crack: The works of art by Mattias Bischoff from Wilzhofen are sculpture and lamp in one.
Now one of his stone lights can be seen for the first time at the international sculpture exhibition in Bad Ragaz, Switzerland.
Wilzhofen - The time will come in mid-March: Then the truck commissioned by the Swiss arrives and takes over the largest lighted object that Bischoff has created so far.
The lamp stone with the designation “one, two, three” is so heavy with its 4.5 tons that it has to be transported in two halves.
“Actually, I don't really need to worry about anything anymore,” says Bischoff, who accidentally found out about the international sculpture exhibition in Bad Ragaz: “Three years ago I took a break at the Swiss motorway service station 'Heidiland' and started talking about my job as a stone sculptor and was then immediately made aware of the possibility of an application. ”Because the application and the following invitation are a prerequisite for participating in the eighth“ Bad RagARTz - Open-Air Sculpture Exhibition ”.
The fact that Bischoff's project sketch was even accepted a year ago is an honor.
"Applications came from around 2500 artists, only 80 were accepted," says Bischoff - but now there are only 76 more participants at the start.
The lamp sculpture “One, two, three” weighs tons, but its title is a cheerful, light allusion to the edge length of 123 centimeters.
The fact that the cube-shaped work does not look cold is due to the granite used from Nammering in the Bavarian Forest, which is patterned deeply with a rich yellow shade.
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In a glowing state: the exhibition object.
© Private
As soon as the light shines out of the stone gap in the dark, the appearance becomes even warmer, because only the outer edge of the stone slit is gold-plated, while the inside area is copper-plated.
"Otherwise the light looks too yellow", explains Bischoff and adds: "The arrangement of the colors follows empirical values."
Bischoff wanted to perfect the effect of the lamp.
From a certain angle you could see the inner connectors, as well as the lamps used, says Bischoff, who presented the art object for the first time in mid-2020 at the “Eight on the Bach” exhibition in Wilzhofen.
In the final version, the interior should also look absolutely stylish, even if you look from different angles.
Bischoff is positively tense whether the property will arrive safely on the Alpine Rhine.
In any case, he will drive along to set up the light sculpture and align the art object with millimeter precision at its destination in the canton of St. Gallen.
"Only when everything is as accurate as possible can I really feel joy," explains the perfectionist.
Bischoff is curious about the contacts that result from the internationally known exhibition, which advertises to be Europe's largest open-air sculpture show.
Ideally, he will leave his stone lamp in Switzerland after the exhibition is over, because there are already the first signals from potential buyers.
Info:
The “Bad RagARTz” show is open from May 8th to October 31st;
as it is largely designed as open air, it will in all probability actually be carried out.
Enter the keyword “Granite lamps” to find an article in the ARD media library about the artist Mattias Bischoff and his work (www.ardmediathek.de).
BY ANDREAS BRETTING
