Aeschlimann Heinz

1947, Schweiz
Eisenplastiker, Unternehmer, Ingenieur

Catalog Part 1 (PDF)
Catalog Part 2 (PDF)
Flyer Stahlgewitter (PDF)
Beitrag Rundschau Schweizer Fernsehen
Installation «Symbiose»
Ausstellung mit Heinz Aeschlimann und Young Artist in Residence (Film)


«...Als Unternehmer und Bauingenieur stehe ich ­permanent in intensivem Kontakt mit meiner ­Umwelt, sowie in ständiger Konfrontation zwischen Widerstand und Harmonie von Natur, Technik und Mensch. Das künstlerische Umsetzen dieser alltäglichen Herausforderungen, Eindrücke und Gefühle in gestalterische Energie ist für mich Lebensquelle und gleich­zeitig auch Entspannung und Loslösen von weltlichen Problemen...»

Over-dimensional metal plates stretch upward at the entrance to the museum. The surfaces that have been distended by convex and concave dents of varying sizes pull in the observer‘s gaze. The deformations are the traces of an explosive force. These explosion sculptures are part of the newest works by this artist. Inside the museum, Heinz Aeschlimann presents reliefs and a diverse ensemble of sculptures. Some of the displayed reliefs have the form of a cross, while others made of two-dimensional and curved elements have been joined to form meditative tableaus.

The surfaces have been shaped using a welding torch so that picturesque effects are created, depending on how the light hits them. Some of the sculptures are geometric and rectangular with moveable parts, while others have been composed with cut-out, organically arched surfaces and are finely balanced on points. Sculptures with undulating, ribbon-like forms that stretch toward the heavens communicate a feeling weightlessness.

There are works displayed where all that is uncertain has been overcome, for example, the rusted iron plates with their daring distortions that have been placed in an ambivalent and tense relationship to one another and whose energies that are driving in different directions are held together with massive industrial cables. A concrete experience where the process of creation and the fascination with the material are the catalyst for the realization of a sculpture. The diversity of the modes of expression is a result of these factors, as is the experimentation with various materials, testing the limits, and especially the search for a harmonisation between two different materials.
Kathrin Frauenfelder, art historian, Zürich, Switzerland