Was bleibet aber, stiften die Dichter. And poets establish / that which endures.
So do artists such as Alexander Polzin, who uses this quote
from the Romantic poet Friedrich Hölderlin for the title of a new exhibition, running
until Nov. 5 at Galerie Kornfeld in Berlin, Germany.
The show follows the inauguration of a poignant sculpture
that Polzin erected in Paris earlier this year – in honour of the German Jewish
poet Paul Celan, who lived and died in France after escaping the horrors of
World War II, in which his parents were killed.
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| German artist Alexander Polzin |
Polzin said he had dreamt for 17 years of creating a monument
in memory of Celan, to be placed in the latter’s adopted city of Paris, and
that dream became a reality in May when the sculpture Hommage à Paul Celan was unveiled during a ceremony at the city’s Anne Frank Garden.
To celebrate Polzin's Hommage, Galerie Kornfeld
is now showing a selection of the artist’s sculptures, paintings and works on
paper, all of which explore the art of poetry and its authors.
“This intensive exploration of literary and philosophical
texts and ideas forms the essence of Alexander Polzin’s work,” the Gallery
says. “The artist has close personal and intellectual ties with many writers,
philosophers and scientists.”
In addition to the draft for Monument for Paul Celan, the
exhibition assembles works inspired by the words and personalities of writers
as varied as Dante Alighieri, Giordano Bruno, Bertolt Brecht, Heiner Müller and
Thomas Brasch.
Although the human figure is at the centre of his sculptural
work, Polzin is not interested in a “portrait-like reproduction of people” but
is mostly concerned “with the ideas that take shape in his art”, the Gallery
adds.
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| Maquette section: Monument to Paul Celan, by artist Alexander Polzin |
Central themes concern moral, social and societal
questions. During a well-attended talk
in Paris (organized by the Arts Arena and held at the city’s branch of Columbia
Global Centers), Polzin told listeners that he very consciously seeks out the
public space as a stage, where art can create dialogue and a different way of
thinking.
In an interview after his presentation, he said that the
artist has certain responsibilities, which for him are of paramount importance.
“I feel responsibility for the past and for the future,
because I want to help to make sure that some things never happen again,”
Polzin said. “I don’t consider myself an activist, yet everything I do is political.
But that’s automatic.
“I think that if you do your work as an artist, in a way
that’s truthful to yourself and to your art, then it comes automatically that
you’re doing something for the good of society. Just like a baker needs to make
good bread,” he continued.
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| Polzin's Hommage monument in Paris. |
In addition to the Hommage à Paul Celan artwork in the Anne Frank Garden and the sculpture The Pair in the foyer of Paris’ Opéra National de la
Bastille, the public can see his striking Giordano Bruno monument on Potsdamer Platz in
Berlin, and the sculpture Socrates on the campus of Tel Aviv University.
Polzin’s works have also been exhibited in international
galleries and museums, such as the Getty Center in Los Angeles, the Anna
Achmatova Museum in St. Petersburg, the Kunstmuseum Ahrenshoop and, most recently,
in the museums of the Vatican in Rome, the Gallery says. - Tasshon
