Harald Klingelhöller
Since the mid-1980s, Harald Klingelhöller has placed the link between sculpture and language at the centre of his work. Employing a different materials, ranging from fragile paper, cardboard and glass mirror to heavy steel and granite, his work creates a formal and conceptual connection between narrative elements and the visual arts. The metaphoric and poetic linguistic constructions that preceded his sculptural work are often more than just the titles of the respective works, and are tied in with the sculptures which vary widely in terms of form. His sculptures can be seen as the three-dimensional transcription of written and oral language, playing on intonation, repetition and variation, as well as the linear flow of the letters. The titles of his works and the words he uses in his sculptures derive from various contexts: the press, poems, medical or legal texts. He defines himself as “a linguistic flaneur.”
He has had a number of solo exhibitions devoted to his work, including: Schneefall erzählt, Skulpturenhalle, Thomas Schütte Stiftung, Neuss-Düsseldorf, Germany, 2021; Roads after the rain (double, star-shaped) (Strassen nach dem Regen (zweifach, sternför mig)), Galerie Jocelyn Wolff, Romainville, France, 2021; Resembling something not occurred (Kette), Jeffrey Starck, N.Y., USA, 2016; Wo jeder Gegenstand, Seine eigenen Worte, So trägt,
Wie jede Blum, ihren eigenen Duft, (Kette), Tucci Russo, Torre Pelice, Turin, Italy, 2015; Harald Klingelhöller, Skulpturenpark Waldfrieden, Cragg-Foundation, Wuppertal, Germany, 2014; The Sea at Ebb Tide Dreamed, Museu Serralves, Porto, Portugal, 2007; ... Wie Landschaften auf Worte reagieren ..., Städtische Galerie, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2005; Alle Metaphern werden wahr - Skulpturen 1986-1997, a retrospective, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, München, Germany, 1997-1998; Art Gallery of York University, Toronto, Canada, 1996; Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, United Kingdom, 1990; Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, Netherlands, 1990; Kunsthalle Bern, Bern, Switzerland, 1988; Museum Haus Esters, Krefeld, Germany, 1988; Westfälisches Landesmuseum, Münster, Germany, 1986.
Klingelhöller has created several sculptures for the public space, notably in Berlin, Grenoble, Karlsruhe, Munich, Münster and Tübingen.
