exhibited:

25.06.-26.10.2025 MICHAEL KIENZER Outside, twelve Pieces, Schlossmuseum, Linz, AT



Michael Kienzer positions the two tall sculptures, “La Bottigliage” and “286 Meter” (“286 Metres”) on a relatively small area of lawn near the Friedrichstor. They are similar in form and structure to free-standing columns or stelae, but are constructed differently. The sculpture “La Bottigliage” consists of a simple tin saucepan placed over a three-metre-long pipe. As the two elements are identical in diameter, the impression is created of there being no connection between them. However, Kienzer does not use his sculpture to convey a specific message or guide to meaning, but rather focuses in his individual configurations on the openness of form and the relationship between its elements as well as their complexity and readability.

The sculpture “286 Meter”, created at the end of the 1980s, is the earliest work featured in the exhibition. It illustrates themes and motifs that remain essential to Michael Kienzer’s work and are constantly being refined. These include, above all, the exploration of line and drawing in three-dimensional space and their translation into sculpture. The title is a reference to the length of the welded copper pipe from which the sculpture was produced. Kienzer treats it as if it were a line growing upwards in a spiral, thus creating the actual form. The line is used here not only as a means of representation but as an independent element that defines and structures the space. The body of the sculpture appears never to be completed, but rather to be undergoing a constant process.

The open form is an important aspect of Kienzer’s artistic understanding. It is crucial that the boundaries and conclusion of the form are eliminated in favour of continuity and growth. Furthermore, the sculpture can be understood as a three-dimensional drawing in which the copper pipe functions as a line in space. (Inga Kleinknecht, Linz 2025)