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THE SCULPTOR KURT ARENTZ

By Dr. Volker G. Probst

 

The sculptor Kurt Arentz receives congratulations at a recent exhibition of his works in Bonn from the West German Secretary of Defense Dr. Manfred Wörner and his wife Elfie, who is very active in the Bonn art circles.

From the dawn of civilization, imposing cave paintings have survived to testify to Man's creative will, immortalized in these representations of human and animal figures, the agents of his conscious perception of subject and object. These ancient artists, lost to anonymity, were the first to use the medium of painting to perform a mythical act of creation, still aspired at by every artist in every work of art since.

The sculptor, Kurt Arentz, had chosen the theme of animals, alongside a number of other portraits, to be the permanent theme of his artistic self expression. In his comprehensive collection of plastic works of art we find, not only all the important animal species common to Europe, but also some of a more exotic nature. With his wide-ranging representation of animal life, Arentz is continuing the tradition, which started in the 19th century and has, since then, become more and more crystallized, of European animal sculptors.

In contrast to Ewald Mataré, who, in answer to August Gaul, developed an abstract language of shapes, Arentz remains true to the heritage of traditional sculpture. He acts as a stimulus to the contemporary sculptors; his work underlines his belief that concrete sculpture is able to formulate a positive reply to looming chaos, despite the drastic destruction of our environment. Arentz accentuates the plasticity of his work by refusing to give his animals' coats a smooth finish: a kind of surface expressionism. This rough texturing emphasizes the unrestrained vitality of his subjects.

Arentz's figures, sculptured in wax and later cast in bronze, convey the typical characteristics of each species as well as an overriding innocence born of Nature. Kurt Arentz's work is thus an expression of the creative energy of the cosmos.


Copyright 1996 PROMETHEUS
Reprinted with permission
 
 
 

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PROMETHEUS, Internet Bulletin for Art, Politics and Science.