Iron and steel

Swiss iron and metal sculptors such as Max Bill, Bernhard Luginbühl, Oscar Wiggli, and Jean Tinguely made a significant contribution to international post-war sculpture by developing fundamentally new forms of expression in the realm of three-dimensional design. The subsequent generation, represented in Switzerland by Paolo Bellini, James Licini, and Josef Maria Odermatt, employed the technique of iron sculpture to create innovative responses to the avant-garde movements of the 1960s and 1970s. The three-volume publication "Iron and Steel" now provides an overview of the final phases of work by these three solitary artists. Bellini constructs expansive assemblages that reach out into space, Licini sees himself as a "steel builder." His material is not sheet metal, but rather the industrial steel beam. Odermatt left behind an impressive collection before his death.