Hermann J. Kassel

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Hermann J Kassel (born December 25, 1960 in Oberhausen ) is a German sculptor and object artist who lives and works in Mechernich near Cologne .

Life

From 1986 to 1990 he studied sculpture at the Düsseldorf Art Academy and the Essen Folkwang School. Since 1990 longer working stays in Namibia, South Africa and New York, USA.

Solo exhibitions and participation in exhibitions, temporary and permanent indoor and outdoor installations, in galleries, museums, public places, state and church institutions in Belgium, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic, South Africa, the USA.

Since 2016, Kassel has been dealing with the subject of human dignity and its vulnerability through human beings using the means of the visual arts in the permanent, changing and expanding exhibition project # yourWürde.

In 2019, Kassel started the interactive exhibition project #ZeroWasteArt in Cologne, which will roam nationwide through 20 cities over the course of two years.

About his art

Hermann J Kassel is difficult to classify. Central themes in his artistic work, the sculptures, objects and installations are movement, change and transformation processes as well as the exploration of borders or the separating layer, i.e. what is in between and its diffusion.

  • Pneumate group of works

Air, air pressure and breathing are components of pneumatics. Kassel's installations and wall works consist of steel, rubber and air and are inflated by means of steel bellows, which in turn are activated by the viewer. Depending on the size of the installation, there is also no physical effort to visualize the movement of inflating and withdrawing. The pumping of air creates space and disappears again. The viewer becomes the user and creator of a spatial event.

  • Polymobile group of works

When viewed from the outside, Kassel's Polymobiles are greatly reduced, graceful metal figures. When at rest, they radiate a statuesque calm that does not initially reveal anything of their oscillating movement. As with his pneumatics, the viewer is challenged and can trigger a process of action, movement and sound. The appearance of the sculptures is dependent on the impulse they experience from their viewer / mover.

  • Earthworks

The earth is an essential element of this work. Kassel creates closed room systems in which the forest floor and partly painted canvases are enclosed in steel and glass frames. A process of change and decomposition begins. From the moment it is closed, the work of art escapes the artist's control and influence. It becomes a changeable image of nature that is not subject to any specific period of development.

  • Tree works

In 1997, Kassel's first "Tree Dome" was created. The basis of his work were poplars to be felled, which were sawn off to a height of 2.50 m, but were still connected to the roots and the ground. From this, Kassel created cathedral-like, rising architecture - in the typical combination of art and nature. Nestled against the trunk like a halo of rays, up to seven meters high reinforcement bars protrude into the air, generating freely swinging sounds. The intensity of the sound is influenced by the air circulation and the strength of the wind.

  • “Take part in art” ©

As part of his intervention format “take part in art” © developed in 2001, Kassel works with companies and institutions at management level on topics of creativity, appreciation and creation, and awareness of independent thinking and acting.

Since 2012, he has also been working on these topics as a lecturer at the Rheinische Management College in Düsseldorf.

Works in private and public collections

Kinetic collection, Städt. Museum, Gelsenkirchen; RWE / ELE, Gelsenkirchen; Hypo Vereinsbank Düsseldorf; Halswick Collection, Cologne / Ireland; Weiser Collection, Bochum; Obertshausen, Offenbach district; Evang. Melanchthon parish, Bochum; Catholic St. Evergislus Parish, Bonn; Deutsche Telekom, Cologne; Deutsche Telekom, Bonn; Law firm Hasche Sigle, Cologne; GETRAG Ford Transmissions, Cologne; St. Erpho parish of Münster; City of Dorsten, Ph. Ludwigsburg; Hiltrud Neumann Collection

literature

  • Ralf-P. Seippel: Hermann J Kassel “viewing, understanding, moving”. Seippel Gallery, Cologne 1993; ISBN 3-9804967-1-6

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kassel, Hermann J.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kassel, Hermann J (own spelling)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German sculptor and object artist
DATE OF BIRTH December 25, 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH Oberhausen