A journey through the sculptural work of the Franco-German artist through a series of installations in the public space.
From October 2021 to September 2023, 33 picturesque towns and villages in Burgundy-Franche-Comté host 62 original sculptures by the sculptor Robert Schad in front of their castles, monasteries or historical ruins. In these places chosen personally by the artist, contemporary sculpture meets the landscape, architecture and history. It accompanies the viewer along the paths of the region, while a red line made of solid natural square steel with a constant cross-section of 10 x 10 cm (hence the name of the exhibition) crosses the countryside. The walker can follow it, discovering new and surprising perspectives on known places.
Published on the occasion of the eponymous exhibition from 2021 to 2023.
German-born artist Robert Schad (born 1953 in Ravensburg) has been living and working in the small village of Larians et Munans in Haute-Saône (France) since 1994. His sculptures, installed on site, seem to spring up from the ground, like giant mushrooms, they are linked together by an imaginary mycelium. One has the feeling that they were born and developed on the spot. Like dancers in a sculptural choreography, they are incredibly light, despite their weight. These sculptures, made of the same material used for machines and weapons, are far from being rigid, they are airy and pure, animated by a formidable inner energy. Their straight segments are articulated, like human limbs in motion. And as if by magic, this movement suddenly seems to stop, precisely at the moment when the spectator stops and looks at it.
Robert Schad addresses a wide audience. Everyone has the opportunity to look at it with their own eyes. The sculptures refer only to themselves. They are the result of a sensual experience that accompanies the viewer and stimulates reflection. The creation of their various forms does not come from a sculptural calculation: they are free and three-dimensional, interacting with equally free and spatial lines. This physical and psychological experience, this creativity of total freedom, allows the sculptures to take root.
