Thomas Röthel's sculptures are created from a columnar master form made of solid steel. Folds, cuts, bends and twists are used to create steel sculptures that seem to defy gravity. Corrections are impossible during the creation process, making the artist's approach all the more meticulous and planned. No two works by Röthel are the same, each one is unique.
Biography
1969 born in Ansbach (DE)
1986-1989 Apprenticeship as a wood sculptor
1992-1998 Studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Nuremberg under Prof. Hölzinger
1991-1994 Concepts for squares and architectural projects
From 1995 Development of steel sculptures
Freelance artist since 1998.
Lives and works in Oberdachstetten / Middle Franconia
Numerous solo and group exhibitions in Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Thomas Röthel works serially, his figures come in all sizes, but share a clear formal language. They represent three-dimensional graphics born of heat, intuition and calculation and radiate clarity and rigor. Depending on which side you look at the steel sculptures from, they offer insights and vistas, but always direct your gaze into the heart of the sculpture, following the movement of the steel.
Röthel’s steel sculptures shape the space – regardless of whether this is an enclosed space, a building complex or nature – in a way that only a few greats before him, such as Eduardo Chillida, Berto Lardera or Joel Shapiro, have succeeded in doing. His art, immortalized in the moment of dissolution, creates exciting perspectives and fields of action that redefine their surroundings.
Thomas Röthel was born in Ansbach and studied at the Nuremberg Academy of Fine Arts after training as a wood sculptor. As a freelance artist, he has been working with steel since 2000. He found his role models in the works of Pino Spagnolo and Richard Serra. (from “Poetry in steel” exhibition at Isny Castle)