Günter Haese - Schwerelos. Raumplastiken aus Draht
(Weightless. Spatial sculptures made of wire)
Opening 15.8.2021 at noon, duration 15.8. - 24.10.2021

The exhibition "Weightless" by German sculptor Günter Haese (1924–2016) located in the inner glass case of the Skulpturenmuseum Glaskasten Marl comprises around 20 sculptures and a few monotypes. Originally coming from Kiel, Haese studied in the class of Ewald Mataré at the Academy of Art in Düsseldorf and soon came up with his individual design language which was strongly determined by his chosen material. He discovered brass wire, components of dismantled clocks such as spiral springs, as well as small gears, which he then used as structural elements for delicate spatial objects. Even just a slight breeze sets these filigree, organic-looking wire mesh figures into motion which is why these works can be assigned to the spectrum of kinetic art in the broader sense. Balls, spirals or other filigree parts are lined up in a soldered wire mesh - they are works of art of unique and imaginative physicality. Then as now, the seemingly weightless objects form a convincing counterweight to a block-like, static conception of sculpture.

The stages of Haese's international perception in the 1960s are impressive: the solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1964 was the first highlight, a year later Henry Moore visited him in his Düsseldorf studio, and in the same year Günter Haese was represented at documenta III in Kassel. In 1966, he took part in the XXXIII. Biennale of Venice. In 1967, he participated in the German Pavilion of the World Exhibition in Montreal, Expo 67, and in 1969 in the X. Biennale of São Paulo in Brazil. In the following decades his work was shown in many important museums, as the following small selection shows: At the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam in 1972, at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg and in the Kunsthalle Kiel in 1979, in the Kunsthalle Mannheim in 1982, in Haus Koekkoek in Kleve in 1989, in the Free Academy of Arts in Hamburg in 2010 and most recently at the Richard Haizmann Museum in Niebüll in 2011.
The exhibition in Marl with works from the estate is a cooperation with the Museum Lothar Fischer, the Ernst Barlach Haus - Foundation Hermann F. Reemtsma, Hamburg and the Galerie Thomas in Munich.

Illustration:
Another moon, 1963
Brass, 29 x 28 x 18 cm
Courtesy: Galerie Thomas, Munich