The artistic metal bending of Bernar Venet
Not everyone likes the massive sculptures of the French artist Bernar Venet. The artist, however, is internationally renowned for his works. And the monumental pieces of art can hardly be overlooked.
Remember 1989
Bernar Venet's most recent piece of public art was unveiled in Germany's former capital, Bonn, on June 5. In his hallmark style using massive piece of steel, the work examines the changing identity of Bonn, which relinquished its status as Germany's capital following reunification. Click through the gallery for more impressive works by Bernar Venet.
Framing the Sun King
With one of his monumental steel sculptures, Bernar Venet framed the monument of King Louis XIV, the Sun King, in 2011. Decisive for the effect of the installation on the Place d'Armes in Versailles is the visual axis. From the viewer's point of view, the steel surrounds the statue. If the viewer stands directly behind the statue, the middle part of the Palace of Versailles is framed.
International recognition
In 1966, Venet moved to New York to gain reputation and develop as an artist. Since then, he has participated in the Documenta in Kassel and the Venice Art Biennale several times. In 2013, he was awarded the Julio González International Prize. On this occasion his sculpture "230.5 ° Arc x 15 '' was installed in the atrium of the Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (pictured).
In Germany and around the world
The sculpture "Triptyque, 220 ° arc x 5" stands in front of the entrance of the art museum of the wealthy Swabian businessman Reinhold Würth in Erstein in Alsace (pictured shortly before the opening of the museum 2008). Works by Venet can be found in more than 70 museums including the Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.
Venet steel between the Alps and the Mediterranean
This steel arch looks like the huge base of a cradle. "Arc de 115.5 Degrees" stands in the maritime flair of the park for Albert I on the French Riviera. Bernar Venet studied formative arts in Nice.
Clash with nature
In 2010, the art project "Krauthügel" presented nine steel sculptures by Bernar Venet in Salzburg, Austria. They stood on the meadow below the fortress for three months - and reaped a great deal of protest. The terrain is part of a nature reserve, which is why many rejected Venets sculptures.
The art of chaos
"Désordre," or "chaos," is the name of these monumental steel sculptures. The master of this chaos, Bernar Venet, strides through the sculptures in Marseille in 2013. The southern French city in the Provence was European Capital of Culture at that time.
Fast math
It is not only through his sculptures that Venet expresses his passion for mathematics. The French artist has decorated the interior and the exterior of this Bugatti art car with mathematical formulas. The formulas are used to calculate the power of a motor.