Kontinente – 5 Holzskulpturen (Nr. 1593-1597)

Materials

Wood; diameter each: 175 cm, depth each: 80 cm

Dating

1980

About the artwork

series of five pieces

About the artist

From 1949 to 1952, the Swiss artist Raffael Benazzi completed his apprenticeship as a sculptor in the Zurich studio of Arnold D’Altri, Alfred Huber and Willy Stadler. D’Altri was the teacher with the most discernible influence on the 18 year old Benazzi, who aspired to become an independent artist.
Benazzi shows great talent when it comes to realising his ideas with different materials. It is astonishing how he responds to the challenges, which diverse materials such as wood, bronze or alabaster have to offer. Emphasising the material properties of his sculptures has always been important to him. He wants to direct the observer’s attention on the surface, thereby accentuating the sculpture’s expansion into the room.
His shapes can be labelled ‘organic abstraction’ and are formally and emotionally reminiscent of natural structures: buds, fruits or seed capsules. Under the influence of the urban American scenery, where he had lived and worked for many years, Benazzi combined his soft, organic and sensually rounded shapes with edged-cubist, architectural elements.