1 colli, Skulptur 2006
Berlinische Galerie, Landesmuseum für Moderne Kunst, Fotografie und Architektur; Tischlerplatten, Spiegel, Dispersionsfarbe, Videoprojektion, ca. 220 x 500 x 250 cm
The starting point for 1 Colli (Colli = cargo item) is given by the hypothetical question: Upon entering a museum, which influences might an artwork undergo and which form might it take on, if, while fulfilling technical requirements of transport, storage, etc, its only aspiration is to be the largest possible self-contained ’piece’? With the utmost accuracy Balthaus pursues his course of inquiry: The first fundamental restriction found at the museum’s entrance is the freight elevator, whose dimensions in length, width and height dictate the largest transportable object and thus the initial size of the work. The subsequent forming of the sculpture, instead of showing the artist’s handwriting, is strictly determined by all obstacles and restrictions encountered in the building during the journey