Sculpture "Owl Family", bronze version
Sculpture "Owl Family", bronze version
Quick info
ars mundi Exclusive Edition | limited, 99 copies | numbered | signed | bronze | patinated | polished | height with pedestal 26.5 cm | weight 8.85 kg
Detailed description
Sculpture "Owl Family", bronze version
Abstraction with a wink: The "Owl Family" seems almost playful despite all its deliberate abstraction. The actually curved owl bodies have been reinterpreted as a simple column shape, remaining immediately recognisable as such.
"Owl Family" as a bronze casting. Edition in bronze on a diabase base, patinated and polished. Cast by hand using the Lost-Wax-Process. Base size 21 x 3.5 x 27 cm (w/h/d), height of the sculpture 23 cm, weight 8.85 kg. Limited edition of 99 copies, numbered and signed. Exclusively at ars mundi.
Producer: ars mundi Edition Max Büchner GmbH, Bödekerstraße 13, 30161 Hanover, Germany Email: info@arsmundi.de
About Johann Baptist Lenz
1922-2007
The sculptor Johann Baptist Lenz, from the Eifel region, made a name for himself throughout Germany primarily with his design of monuments, altar rooms in churches, sculptures and fountains for public places. In addition to such large-scale works, he also created smaller representational as well as abstract sculptures. Sometimes realistic, sometimes humorous, but always sensitive and with a fine gift of observation, he devoted himself to his fellow human beings, religious representations and motifs from the animal world. He was a narrator of everyday life, his wife Maria Lenz said about him.
An alloy of copper with other metals (especially with tin) used since ancient times. It is an ideal metal for high-quality artistic castings, capable of enduring for millennia.
When casting bronze, the artist usually applies the lost-wax technique which is dating back more than 5000 years. This is the best, but also the most complex method of producing sculptures.
First, the artist forms a model of their work. This model is embedded in a liquid silicone rubber mass. Once the material has solidified, the model is cut out, leaving a negative mould. Liquid wax is then poured into the negative mould. After cooling down, the wax cast is removed from the mould, provided with sprues and dipped into ceramic mass. The ceramic mass is hardened in a kiln, where the wax melts away (lost mould).
Finally, the negative mould is ready, into which the 1400° C hot molten bronze is poured. After the bronze had cooled down, the ceramic shell is broken apart, reavoling the sculpture.
Next, the sprues are removed, the surfaces are polished, patinated and numbered by the artist or by a specialist, following their instructions. Thus, each casting is an original work.
For lower-quality bronze castings, the sand casting method is often used, which, however, does not achieve the results of a more elaborate lost-wax technique in terms of surface characteristics and quality.
Graphic or sculpture edition that was initiated by ars mundi and is available only at ars mundi or at distribution partners licensed by ars mundi.
Term for an art object (sculpture, installation) that, according to the artist’s intention, is produced in multiple copies within a limited and numbered edition.
Multiples enable the "democratization" of art by making the work accessible and affordable for a wider audience.
A plastic work of sculptural art made of wood, stone, ivory, bronze or other metals.
While sculptures made of wood, ivory, or stone are carved directly from the material block, in bronze casting, a working model is prepared at first. Usually, it is made of clay or other easily mouldable materials.
The prime time of sculpture after the Greek and Roman antiquity was the Renaissance. Impressionism gave a new impulse to the sculptural arts. Contemporary artists such as Jorg Immendorf, Andora, and Markus Lupertz also enriched sculptures with outstanding works.