Alistair Rider on Fred Sandback at Cairn, 2024

Sculpting the Space
Sculpting the Space, a film by Corinna Thierolf and Bettina Ehrhardt, documents the realization of five large sculptures that Fred Sandback conceived especially for the spaces of the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich.

In January 2003, Sandback traveled to Munich, familiarized himself with the museum’s architecture and collection, and responded with works that have become part of the artist’s legacy. At the end of his stay, Sandback presented sketches for possible sculptures. Together, they would form an ensemble condensing his artistic language, while also manifesting a visual program about key lived experiences.

He conceived the work Untitled (Sculptural Study, Ten-part Rotunda Construction) for the entrance area of the museum—a light-flooded rotunda designed by architect Stephan Braunfels. Using ochre, blue, and black yarns, he proposed to draw delicate lines inside the monumental hall, which would run along the edges of columns, span the ceiling areas between them, and communicate across the central empty space.

Sandback had previously titled his artworks “untitled”; however, for the Pinakothek, he chose titles that added a narrative dimension and evoke associations: Mikado, Pink Flamingo, Oasis, and Mother and Daughter.

The museum wanted to preserve these works’ unity, so Amy Sandback and Corinna Thierolf, former curator of the Pinakothek der Moderne, decided to refer to them as “Sculptural Studies,” as the artist was not able to realize the first installation himself. The challenge was to transpose the studies into space: who could replace Sandback’s feel for space and transform the sketches into a three-dimensional reality? The artist himself provided the answer. In conversations, he had compared his sketches with a musical score that the musician brings to life by playing the piece: “I don’t think that my aesthetics are necessarily preferred to anyone else’s in terms of interpreting this. It’s like a piece of sheet music.”

The Sculptural Studies by Fred Sandback were acquired by the Pinakothek der Moderne by acquisition and gift between 2004 and 2008.

This film was made possible with the support of The American Patrons of the Pinakothek Trust and The International Patrons of the Pinakothek e.V.

Fred Sandback, Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, 2006
In this video made for Fred Sandback’s survey exhibition at the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, in 2006. Christiane Meyer-Stoll, curator, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz, speak about Sandback’s artistic practice, materials, and the range of works in the exhibition from 1966 to 2003.