Concrete Houses and Stair Sculptures – Early by Hubert Kiecol

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Sechs Aneinandergereihte 1982, Beton, 26 cm

In architecture all ideas are created at a smaller scale before being built up in increments, from rough sketches to physical model making. Watching some of the best architects at work it’s quite obvious that they start from outside in, first experimenting with the outer facade and main shell, before dividing the space and designing elements for movement and separation within the build. But what if you were to flip these concepts on their head and approach them different altogether?

Well that’s what Hubert Kiecol has done over the years, creating sculpture that’s an architectural element taken out of context. Stairs, houses, windows, they all have new meaning when seperated from a build, despite their everyday functionality. Hubert reduces these individual elements to their bare essentials, using common place matter like concrete to create smooth and clean looking forms without any ornamental value.

The photos I place here are from a recent exhibition that took place in 2014 titled “Early” at the Häusler Contemporary Gallery. These are small-scale houses and stair sculptures made from the concrete material. I picked out this series as it marked some of his first explorations in to space and our perception of objects, so I thought it would be a good starting point for you to explore his back catalogue. As you can see, the houses are placed directly on the floor, with the scale being an important part of the metaphor. Not only are these neat looking sculptures, they also question our surroundings and the way in which we function, this is what impresses me the most. Enjoy.

hubert-kiecol.de

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Ort 1981, Beton, Höhe 26 cm

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Drei Straßen 1989, Beton, Höhe 26 cm & Vorne Neubau I 1982, Beton, Höhe 26 cm

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Vorne rechts Zeile 1981, Beton, Höhe 26 cm

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Drei Straßen 1989, Beton, Höhe 26 cm

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Vorne Hof 1985, Beton, Höhe 26 cm & Drei Straßen 1989, Beton, Höhe 26 cm

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Zeile 1981, Beton, Höhe 26 cm

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Neun Treppen 1989, Beton, Höhe 25 cm & Hinten Neun Treppen, frei 1987, Beton, Höhe 25 cm

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Hof 1985, Beton, Höhe 26 cm

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