Christoph Zwiener
26. März – 7. Mai 2006

The sculptor, who was born in Osnabrück in 1972 and lives and works in Berlin, avoids the claim of turning everything into the obvious. His works remain mysterious and enigmatic, as they elude the first quick glance and require a closer look.

Zwiener's exploration revolves around the perception of places or non-places that are familiar from memory or constant encounters. These can be spaces from his own memory as well as anonymous places in public space that condition and determine everyday perception. He plays with the viewer's expectations and the conditions and possibilities of his perception, confronting him with the conditions of his view of the world and provoking a new questioning of the surrounding reality.

Just as he uses subtle irritations to question the seriousness of monumental sculpture, he also draws attention to places that have often been overlooked, hidden or lost in memory, which he collects in a similar way to objets trouvés. This is the case with the 'Socialized Sculptures', as Christof Zwiener calls objects in public space whose destroyed or damaged form is marked by traces of wear and tear caused by use.

This manifests his questioning of the concept of sculpture, which does not tie the understanding of sculpture to materiality and weight, but instead directs the gaze to the plastic image quality of its form through subtle shifts.

His works play with concealing and revealing, showing and puzzling, awakening the imagination of the viewer, who can complete the image in his or her imagination.

Also because Christof Zwiener uses different media for his reduced and conceptual sculptures and installations, which can be described as experimental arrangements for questioning the perception of remembered and experienced spaces and places, he keeps all expectations open for the installation shown at the Kunstverein Arnsberg.