Shipwreck Aufbruch IV Shipwreck Shipwreck XII Shipwreck XV Shipwreck IX Shipwreck XV Shipwreck Shipwreck IX Shipwreck III Cube 2 Fügung II Shipwreck VIII Cube 2 Fügung II Torsion II Kraftfluss Kraftfluss Kraftfluss Kraftfluss Kraftfluss Kraftfluss Cube I Aufbruch VI Welle Shipwreck X Aufbruch Studie Aufbruch V Aufbruch Studie Aufbruch VI Shipwreck X Aufbruch IV Shipwreck Studie Aufbruch Shipwreck IX Schwingen II Shipwreck VII Shipwreck XIV Shipwreck III Cube I Cube I Fügung II Torsion II Große Torsion I Kraftfluss Kraftfluss Kraftfluss Kraftfluss Kraftfluss Kraftfluss Kraftfluss Shipwreck IV Schwinge Aufbruch VI Welle Aufbruch V Shipwreck Studie Aufbruch V Shipwreck Studie
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Flow of Force

Physics investigates the action of forces. That connects them to Wolf's work. We experience the power of his material and the process that leads him to his work.

Reflecting on the dialogical experience of art, the philosopher Christoph Menke noted: "The power of art is about our freedom." This is the offer and the challenge of art.

The dictionary of philosophical terms defines force as "the cause of physical events, in particular, the change in the form and state of motion of a body." Wolf makes this a central theme in his "Flow-of-Force" cycle of works. The forces with which he formed the resistant material have left their traces in the processed steel. They are present in the steel. The flow of force does not stand still.

In their contrasting aspects, the "Flow-of-Force" works show the enormous energies that work in steel. Massive blocks, cuboids weighing tons are wedged together, immovable, but seemingly in motion, at the end of a convulsion or at the dawn of a new awakening. Besides its earthly weightiness, there is delicate lightness: meter-high profiles swing elegantly in the wind. They wheel, twist, and bend as if the steel could fly. Both are typical for the character of the material, the moving momentum as well as the unmoving monolith.

Thanks to steel, bridges carry loads and supertankers circumnavigate the globe. Steel secures our technology-based prosperity, and it can become a fearsome weapon. It stands for our attempts to tame the forces of nature and our ability to destroy the planet.

Wolf trusts the steel: "My decades of experience have taught me that there is no 'working against the material.' Only by understanding and respecting this strong character can the work succeed. This, too, is a metaphor for the sculptures of my flow-of-force cycle."

The physical experience of the flow of force is also the theme of the series "Shipwreck." The seemingly durable steel erodes, begins to flow, taking on an almost organic appearance in the process of its destruction and dissolution. Wolf thus opens up an unexpected view of his material and radically questions the familiar impression and function of steel for our society.

The "Flow of Force" is not just a cycle of works. "It is a reflection of the forces which flow between me and the material of my work during the creative process," says Wolf about his work.