7 Eisquader, 2023

Clemens Hutter  

Mixed media: oil paint, collage, drawing on paper and transparent film in brochure cover AL-No. 433

Clemens Hutter has developed and continues to develop his own techniques for working with iron, his material. He explores the material's deformability and its artistic potential.
One such process is the freezing expansion or freezing bursting of hollow bodies. Water is frozen in a sealed hollow iron body and expands, stretching it and sometimes even bursting it open. This expansion creates the overall form, as in this sculpture. The originally smooth, superimposed, and mutually welded cubes expand and create the uniform fanning out that ultimately determines the formal appearance of the work. Clemens Hutter also leaves the color and texture to his material. They are determined by the modulations that rust produces as a natural oxidation. His steel sculptures develop a special fascination outdoors, as the weathering causes the material to slowly change with subtle nuances. Part of the artistic concept is to present rusting as a process of transformation.

In the end, the artist's play with his material is fascinating, skillfully showcasing its authentic properties.