Albert Hettinger – Basalt
17 September 2023 until 14 January 2024
New gallery in Haus Beda and Haus Beda garden
This retrospective of the oeuvre of Bitburg-born artist Albert Hettinger (1964 – 2022) shows large and small works from various creative phases: from the award-winning final work of Hettinger, who trained as a stonemason in Mayen, to the sculptor’s last large stele, which he was no longer able to complete due to dwindling muscle strength. In all of the artist’s works, the meditative ‘dialogue’ with the basalt formations he himself selected in quarries or found in riverbeds preceded the actual sculptural work. Out of respect and admiration for the natural form of these basalt stones, some of which are millions of years old and possess almost cosmic energy, Hettinger ‘only’ worked on individual sections of many stones and left parts in their original, ‘rough’ state. The contrast between the crusty, porous, often slightly brownish or rust-coloured surfaces formed by nature over thousands of years and the sharp-edged, smoothly polished, dark grey forms carved out of the interior of the stones by the artist could hardly be greater.
In the upper area of large and smaller basalt stones, the sculptor, who always worked rather abstractly, liked to crystallise stepped structures reminiscent of buds or pyramids. Or he primarily worked on the centre of an elongated stone. He often explicitly exposed only a narrow gap and showed a series of carved ridges. In addition to the focussed, ZEN-based form finding, the realisation of Albert Hettinger’s stone sculptures is associated with a great deal of artistic energy and physical effort.
Despite their voluminous forms, even Hettinger’s large works often radiate a certain ‘lightness’. One example of this is the “Whale”: a basalt lump weighing over five tonnes and over three metres long, with partly rough, natural sides that taper downwards, worked, smooth sections and a polished, shiny surface. This large work has been part of the sculpture ensemble at Haus Beda in Bitburg since autumn 2012. It has found its place on the round lawn in the garden of the cultural centre. The imposing basalt invites visitors to the well-tended green area to lie down on the stone and feel the power of the ancient material.
The Bitburg exhibition also presents photographs showing Albert Hettinger in his atmospheric studio and participating in sculpture symposia. The photographs visualise work steps and the genesis of individual works. Views of interesting exhibition venues for Hettinger’s works, such as the Poppy and Pierre Salinger Foundation in Le Thor (F), the German Cultural Centre in Tokyo or the Biennale in Ube (Japan), can also be seen here.