Günther Uecker
Wald, 1984

Artist
Günther Uecker

Title
Forest

Year of creation
1984

Technique and dimensions
glue, ash, nails, lime wood, 170 x 400 x 400 cm

Year of acquisition
1989

Donation from the Pietzsch couple

The serial use of nails that create field-like movements became the characteristic artistic language of Uecker, who worked in the group “Zero” with Heinz Mack and Otto Piene between 1960 and 1966 and focused on the expressive power of rhythmically placed light -Shadow structures concentrated. In the mid-1950s, in addition to the nail reliefs, he also began to fetishize bodies made of wood and leather or everyday objects such as tables, chairs or television sets with nails. It was not until 1980, after an action with a felled tree in the Brusten gallery in Wuppertal, that the design with unprocessed wood began. As a result of this campaign, various versions of multi-part groups with the title Forest have been created in a similar form since 1984; the Nationalgalerie work is the first in this series.

The eight tree stumps of different heights with their nail heads, which look like wreaths of thorns or grass-like growths, look like solidified pillars that still contain traces of living nature. The contrast between organic substance and technical materiality creates a strange alienation, which is further increased by the fact that the strong trunks tend to have a tectonic solidity, while the rhythmically driven nails convey something moving and light. This group, loosely positioned in the room, becomes a silent reminder of the danger posed by humans to nature. At the same time, it also symbolizes a kind of naturalness of the ephemeral - as if transformed into mythical creatures, a new, underground life force seems to arise from these cut parts of the tree.