EIN SCHLOSS DIE LÜFTE ZU VERSCHLIESSEN

Performance: Sunday 17.03.2024, 3 pm (duration: 40 minutes)

Wolfgang Nestler's artworks are often made of wood and steel. They are heavy and yet appear very light. A paradox that can seduce viewers into using them, interacting with them and touching them. His objects ask to be bent, adjusted and pushed, they roll and swing, they bounce and bang. The joy of the interaction they trigger is reminiscent of the seriousness of children's play.

Can you picture how children react to unknown objects? At first they eye things shyly, then hesitantly set them in motion. However, as soon as the new thing bobs, swings or turns, their enthusiasm knows no bounds. The game becomes more intense and each repetition becomes a variation of the previous one in terms of intensity and energy. Only adults feel as if children are always performing the same movement. The child, meanwhile, enjoys the nuance, the subtlety of the difference and is completely with itself. This being with oneself seems to be a privilege for children, but one observes the same instincts in adults when confronted with Nestler's works.

The exhibition at IKOB with works by Wolfgang Nestler acts as an interlude, a moment to pause and be moved. The highlight of the exhibition is a performance by the Eupen-based dance company Irene K., whose dancers will move the artworks in the exhibition and incorporate them into their dance improvisation on Sunday, March 17th at 3 pm.

Admission is free of charge.

WOLFGANG NESTLER (*1943, Gershausen) is a sculptor, photographer and draughtsman. He studied at the Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and at the same time trained as a blacksmith, initially working as an art teacher in Aachen and later as a professor at the University of Siegen, before being appointed founding professor of sculpture at the Hochschule der Bildenden Künste Saar, Saarbrücken. Many of his works can be found in public spaces (including the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development in Bonn, a sculptural installation at the Federal Ministry of Justice in Berlin, a steel sculpture at the Federal Garden Show in Stuttgart and a stone sculpture as a memorial to the victims of the Nazi regime in Krefeld). His theme is the energy of form. His works are often moving sculptures that challenge the viewer to engage in playful interactions. In 1977 he participated in documenta 6, in 1987 in documenta 8. In 1993 he took part in the IKOB exhibition "Volle Scheunen" curated by Francis Feidler and has been associated with the IKOB ever since. Jan Hoet saw Wolfgang Nestler's installation in Grüfflingen as a highlight of the "Volle Scheunen" event.