Olaf Metzel’s oeuvre deals with the public sphere we all share. As has generally been the case with his projects since the 1980s, the artworks address the entire spectrum of social issues ranging from politics to the arts, economy and sports. The artist portrays our era, lending it a shape, highlighting current topics, and prompting us to think about virulent socio-cultural questions. For a sculptor however, the main objective lies in creating three-dimensional images of our society.

Metzel’s pieces are both portraits of our time and powerful material constructs. In terms of their formal aesthetics and in the elaboration of their details, his largespatial installations truly are sculptures. He draws inspiration from the pool of obje...