Sunday, October 13, 2024

Bridges and Walls Defy Gravity in Cornelia Konrads’ Atmospheric Site-Specific Installations

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#Cornelia Konrads #installation #land art #sculpture #site-specific

Bridges and Walls Defy Gravity in Cornelia Konrads’ Atmospheric Site-Specific Installations

A land art installation of a bridge in a pine forest.

“bridge” (2018), lodgepole pine, weathered barn boards, and steel rope, 20 meters long and 4 meters high, for Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild, Lincoln, Montana. All images © Cornelia Konrads, shared with permission

A bridge in the middle of a Montana forest appears eternally suspended mid-collapse, and a wooden dock curls up out of the water in just a couple of artist Cornelia Konrads’ site-specific interventions (previously). Using found materials like driftwood in the towering “tourbillon” or tapping into the regional vernacular like the ceramic tiles and stone in “refuge,” the artist re-interprets existing spaces by embracing the tension between harmony and chaos in nature.

Konrads’ installations feature an interplay between permanence and weightlessness, as structures such as bridges, houses, and walls appear to defy gravity. In “La folie des folies (3 The Match),” for example, existing classical statues of Hippomedes and Atalanta appear to playfully lob marble pots across a lawn at one another. And in her most recent work, “fluchtweg / escape route,” a stone wall curls aside to open a footpath, transforming into an inviting gateway rather than a barrier.

The works often visually remark on a specific location, such as “refuge,” which incorporates “an ancient dry stone wall along an old link road between France and Spain, frequently used by refugees during the past centuries,” while “bridge” suspends local lodgepole pine and weathered barn boards over a forested ravine.

Explore more of Konrads’ land art and installations on her website.

A site-specific installation of a wooden dock that curls up at the end.

Collaboration with Marco Dessardo, “pontoon” (2020), wood, plastic containers, iron, and aluminum, 900 x 120 x 150 centimeters. Site on the bank of the Canal de Bourgogne at the harbour of Migennes, for Tandems—Parcours artistique en plein air, Association Canal Satellite, Migennes, France

A site-specific installation of a brick house with a shingle roof built around an oak tree.

“tree house” (2022), bricks, cement, construction wood, wooden tiles, and steel cable, 4 x 4 x 6 meters, in Sologne, France

A site-specific installation of a home-type structure in an ancient dry stone wall.

“refuge” (2019), stones, wood, and roof tiles, approxomately 5 x 2.5 x 1.5 meters, for Murets d’art, Mornans, Val de Drôme, France

A site-specific installation of a refuge-type structure in an ancient dry stone wall, with sheep being herded in front of it.

“refuge”

A site-specific installation of a cyclone sculpture made from local driftwood.

“tourbillon” (2018/2021), driftwood, and metal, 600 x 400 x 400 cm, for Fondation Carmignac, Villa Carmignac, Île de Porquerolles, France.

A site-specific installation using two existing classical sculptures that appear to be throwing pots at each other across a lawn.

“La folie des folies (3 The Match)” (2019), resin, div. paints and pigments, steel rope, two vases, 0.8 x 0.5 x 0.5 meters each, for the Grand Allée of Domaine de la Garenne-Lemot, Gétigné, France

A site-specific installation of classical sculptures in front of an ornate house, throwing pots at one another.

“La folie des folies (3 The Match)”

A site-specific installation of a stone wall that appears to open up welcomingly.

“fluchtweg / escape route” (2023), local stones, mortar, wood, and metal, each side approximately 120 x 225 x 40 centimeters and Installation on a terrain of 550 x 100 centimeters. Site: small valley crossing the main hiking trail to Rittisberg, for Land-Art Rittisberg 2023, Ramsau am Dachstein, Austria

A site-specific installation of a doorway made from wooden shingles in the forest.

“tinkers” (2016), set design for a theatre play of ‘The Only Animal Theatre Society’ at Mt. Elphinstone Provincial Park, Roberts Creek, British Columbia

A site-specific installation of a bridge that appears to be falling apart in the middle, suspended eternally.

Detail of “bridge”

#Cornelia Konrads #installation #land art #sculpture #site-specific

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