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HANS ARP(Strassbourg 1888 - 1966 Basel)
Design für mural relief TU Braunschweig.
Gouache and ballpen on paper.
36 x 102 cm.
Provenance: Private collection, Switzerland.
In the 1950s Hans Arp accepted several
commissions, including the preparation
of a relief for the AuditoriumMaximum
(main auditorium), a building for the newly
planned Forumplatz at the university in
Braunschweig. Friedrich Wilhelm Kramer,
the responsible architect who had been
commissioned with planning the entire
university, oriented his work on that of the
great Bauhaus architects and decided to
give the commission for these large wall
reliefs to Arp, who was already a well-
known artist.
For the relief, inaugurated in 1960, Arp
produced several sketches and collages,
including the work on paper offered here.
The grid lines in ballpoint pen probably
helped Arp harmoniously construct the
proportions and distances between the
individual forms. The sketch-like effect
created by the grid provides an attractive
insight into Arp‘s work process before the
completion of the final relief, which today
hangs magnificently on the west facade of
the university’s auditorium.
CHF 6 000 / 9 000
(€ 5 560 / 8 330)