The sculptor Roland Martin, originally from Tuttlingen, is regarded as one of the leading figures in figurative metal sculpture in south-west Germany since 1945. In 1970, he created a five-part outdoor sculpture for the large lawn in front of the Beethovenschule, comprising slender, towering stelae of varying heights, arranged in a dense group and featuring amorphous forms.
Designed to be viewable from all angles and without a plinth, the sculptural forms appear to grow out of the ground and reach towards the sky with elegant momentum. The non-representational design evokes anatomical and figurative associations: a narrow lower section, a broad torso and a vertical tapering towards the top are reminiscent of human proportions. Facing one another and arranged in a circle around an imaginary centre, they create the impression of a group of people in conversation. Through the notion of encounter and gathering, of togetherness and communication, the sculpture relates to the specific context of the school grounds.
Smooth, gently rounded surfaces and slightly curved forms lend the sculpture an organic sense of movement, despite its quiet, statuesque quality. A tension between stillness and dynamism, mass and energy, characterises the expression of the group of stelae. By reducing the sculptural form to the elementary and essential – abstract yet concrete, clear, simple and austere – Martin followed the trend of ‘New Figuration’ typical of the art of the 1960s.
Text and editing: Kunstmuseum Singen
