VERA RÖHM
Light Time space
May 1 to September 18, 2022
From May 1, 2022, the Spanish Tower Sculpture Garden will present its second exhibition on Darmstadt's Rosenhöhe and, with VERA RÖHM licht zeit raum, will focus on the works of the Darmstadt artist and Wilhelm Loth Prize winner.
The artist Vera Röhm, who lives in Darmstadt and Paris, became known in Darmstadt and beyond the borders of the city of science with her temporary installation of 81 Ergänzungen on the Oberfeld in 1981. Around 40 years later and 20 years after the major solo exhibition on the Mathildenhöhe, the Spanish Tower Sculpture Garden is dedicating a show to Vera Röhm's works on the adjacent Rosenhöhe. From May 1, the VERA RÖHM light time space exhibition will feature sculptures from the Binome group of works as well as from other groups of works by the Wilhelm Loth Prize winner.
Central to Vera Röhm's works are the themes of space, time, light and movement. Her impressive sculptures made of metal, wood, Plexiglas and bronze draw attention to the materiality and complexity of the forms. They sensitize perception with their opaque and transparent surfaces. The interplay of the works with nature is a central moment of the exhibition. The seemingly timeless sculptures appear as space-creating objects. The works were selected with regard to the characteristics of the site and the topographical features of the sculpture garden at the Spanish Tower. Starting from the elevated level next to the historic building, paths criss-cross the sloping and rising terrain. This results in various lines of sight that allow a variety of perspectives on the exhibited works.
About Vera Röhm
Vera Röhm, born in 1943, studied at the Académie Charpentier in Paris, internship as a stage designer at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, studied at the École Cantonale des Beaux Arts et Arts Appliqués in Lausanne. Freelance sculptor since 1968. Her works can be found in numerous public museums and private collections in Europe and the USA. 1989 collaboration with Gerhard Bohner, resulting in the spatial installation for the dance piece Im (golden) Schnitt I, (Durch den Raum, durch den Körper) with performances at international festivals in Europe, Japan, Australia and China. Winner of several art-in-architecture and art-in-public-space competitions. 1997 Wilhelm Loth Prize of the City of Darmstadt. 2003 Johann Heinrich Merck Award of the City of Darmstadt. She lives and works in Paris and Darmstadt.
The exhibition shows five sculptures from the Binome group of works, most of which are being presented to the public for the first time. With this group of works, Vera Röhm has dedicated herself to the combination of two different materials such as stone or metal with Plexiglas from the 1970s to the present day. The combination of Corten steel and Plexiglas is remarkably evident in the installation 9 Binome 80°-85° (2015), which has already been shown at the Fondation Vasarely (Aix-en-Provence, FR). Also worth mentioning are the large Arched Gate (2013/2020), presented to the public for the first time, and 8 Binome - Intervention Rosenhöhe (1994/2022) - an installation specially adapted to the topography of the Spanish Tower Sculpture Garden. It is a variation on the installation Ligne Le Thor, which has been located in the Poppy and Pierre Salinger Foundation's La Bastide Rose sculpture park in Le Thor in the south of France since 2013. The verticals of the stelae seem to structure the space like architectural elements, while the arch opens up the view into the distance.
The works on display, made of industrial materials, contrast in a special way with their surroundings, the natural landscape. »In the Binomials, the steel-Plexiglas material contrasts with the surrounding landscape. The transparent areas open up the view of the surroundings,« says Vera Röhm, describing her work.
EXHIBITION CATALOG
Seit dem 3. Juli 2022 kann der Ausstellungskatalog VERA RÖHM licht zeit raum mit Beiträgen von Donatus Landgraf von Hessen, Dr. Gabriele Mackert und Silke Schuck im Skulpturengarten Spanischer Turm während der Öffnungszeiten und über den Justus-von-Liebig-Verlag (zzgl. Versand) erworben werden.
Preis: 19,80 EUR
Maße: 22 cm x 22 cm
Seitenzahl: 108 Seiten
Herausgeber: BS Kulturstiftung, Darmstadt, 2022
ISBN: 978-3-87390-487-3
South of the Spanish Tower, two sculptures from another group of works, the Baumarbeiten, convey the proximity of art and nature in the artist's work. They began in 1975 with the work Der Baum. To this day, she continues to create works with natural tree trunks, cast in bronze, such as the well-known Licht-Strahl-Eiche (2009-2012) in the collection of the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt. Although it is also composed of the different materials bronze and Plexiglas, the reclining Scheibenbaum (2020) nevertheless appears to be a single entity. The idea of transformation characterizes this sculpture. In contrast, the 6.5-metre-high Spiegelbaum (2017) plays a puzzle with its surroundings. The astonishingly straight growth of the oak becomes the ideal vertical in the bronze image. Turned apart, the mirrored surfaces of the tree halves become the antithesis of nature. The sculpture mirrors its outer appearance as it reflects its own origins in the forest. The other, first Spiegelbaum, which Vera Röhm created with a natural Douglas fir for the forest art trail, has been standing there since 2010.
In addition to the exhibition in the sculpture garden, various photographs will be shown in the Spanish Tower, including Der Baum, taken by Vera Röhm in 1975 in the Messel Pit, which was largely unknown to the public at the time. Also on display is a selection from the series that documented Vera Röhm's temporary installation Ergänzungen Oberfeld 1981. Further Cibachromes and a sculpture deepen the view of the Ergänzungen group of works. The works in the Spanish Tower are accessible during the guided tours announced in the supporting program.
The VERA RÖHM light time space exhibition is open until September 18 on Saturdays between 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm and on Sundays between 11:00 am and 5:00 pm. Admission is free.
