Olaf Metzel

"Gegenwartsgesellschaft"

Provokant, aggressiv, zerstörerisch

Olaf Metzel (b. Berlin, 1952; lives and works in Munich) is a German sculptor and object artist. He sees provoking us to think for ourselves as part of his art. In making his sculptures, he sometimes uses materials from the junkyard such as crowd control barriers in the 13.04.1981 (Berlin, 1987) or discarded stadium seats in the soccer project Auf Wiedersehen (Nuremberg, 2006). Both projects faced considerable protest in the respective cities.

This book is entirely focused on the sculptural works that examine subliminal or consciously repressed aspects of German history. In addition to major sculptures like Wurfeisen und Zwille (Entwurf Hafenstraße), 1990/1991, Idealmodell PK/90, 1987, and Noch Fragen?, 1998/2013, it also presents recent and site-specific works. They aim for direct critical engagement with the beholders and their social, urban, and sociopolitical environments.

The contributions to this book of essays—by Friedrich von Borries, Felix Ensslin, Günther Jacob, Olaf Metzel, Raimar Stange, Florian Waldvogel, and Regina Wamper—contextualize Olaf Metzel’s works in a range of political, architectural, and art-theoretical discourses.