Outlet Pamono Thomas Röthel, Gradual Rotation, 2005, Steel

Thomas Röthel (*1969 Ansbach), Gradual Rotation, around 2005. Steel with rust patina mounted on stone plate. Overall dimensions: 38 cm (height) x 34 cm (width) x 27 cm (depth), weight 12.3 kg.
– in excellent condition

– Dynamic Tectonics –

The two equally sized steel blocks appear to have once formed a single block. In combination with the horizontal stone slab, the vertical blocks exude an architectural calm that makes the dynamic action between the steel blocks, now divided into two equal bodies, seem all the more energetic. As if the inherent forces of the block had been released explosively, it is torn open in the middle to form a crescendo.
However, the release of the inner forces has not resulted in the original cuboid splitting into two separate vertical bodies; rather, the two parts are connected by the filigree lines of force and perform an intrinsically balanced balancing act. The dynamics, in turn, flow into an overarching calmness that is, however, supported by a virtuoso structure of tension. The dynamic is by no means at a standstill within the stillness, but is constantly in progress, as can be seen by walking around the sculpture. The processual character of the ongoing event is also illustrated by the film of rust, which – like the release of inner forces – is also a material process.
While Richard Serra creates spaces of tension with his steel sculptures, Thomas Röthel releases the material’s internal potential for tension and reveals the dynamic order inherent in tectonics. If Serra’s sculptures transcend the human scale and thus create a sublime effect, Röthel’s steel plates, which float on space-bending lines of force, also unfold a sublime effect.

“Every line, every curve can be calculated in advance with mathematical precision according to the given conditions of the material. And yet there is only one moment of genesis that cannot be grasped by the mind, in which a simple block of steel becomes a work of art beyond mathematics and physics. In the hands of Thomas Röthel, the scientific laws inherent in this work of art become poetry in form.

– Erich Schneider

About the artist

After training as a wood sculptor from 1986 to 1989, Thomas Röthel studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Nuremberg with Johannes P. Hölzinger. Since then he has worked as a freelance artist in Oberdachstetten.
Röthel mainly creates steel sculptures in his own workshop. Since 2015, he has also been using the production halls of SFG STEELforming GmbH in Burbach in the Siegerland, with whom the American sculptor Richard Serra also works.

Selected Bibliography

Thomas Röthel. Steel Sculptures 1997 – 2008, Edition Kittelberger, Reutlingen 2009.