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Since the late 1960s, Ulrich Rückriem has been working with stone blocks, steel plates and slabs, cast iron pieces and wood. The artist’s work revolves around the material qualities inherent to these found pieces, which are sourced from quarries and scrap yards, as well as the process by which they evolve into works of art. Guided by his training as a stonemason, Rückriem’s practice further evokes aspects of Constructivism, Arte Povera and Minimalism. Both ancient and modernist, his emblematic stone sculptures stem from a simple process in which he slices stones and reorganises their individual elements. Extending towards the sky or bordering the horizon, the cuts which articulate the final works significantly impact their perception, embodying the essence of Rückriem’s contribution to sculpture, which art critic and curator Daniel Soutif describes as follows:

‘Rückriem’s sculpture is removed from the classical definition of sculpture that opposes the subtraction of material (extolled by Michelangelo) to the additive nature of modelling. It also makes inappropriate any attempt to explain the work in terms of the antitheses – surface/narration, figuration/abstraction, material/dematerial, object/concept, etc. – that are often used to interpret contemporary sculpture.’