Erwin Heerich
Faltschachtel

Erwin Heerich, who, like Joseph Beuys, had studied under Ewald Mataré at the Düsseldorf Art Academy and later taught there, drew isometric constructions in the 1950s and developed his first cardboard sculptures, which made the artist famous in the 1960s. The easy-to-work-with material enabled the sculptor, who also worked with wood, concrete and marble for his sculptures created from basic geometric forms and realized eleven walk-in sculptures as pavilions on the Hombroich Museum Island in the 1980s and 90s, to quickly and single-handedly implement the spatial concepts developed in drawings as three-dimensional objects. The supposedly simple, less artistic material of cardboard is thus given its own value. Three-dimensional folds give rise to constructions that are not to be understood as models for later realization in a different material, but as objects in their own right. The Edition Faltschachtel (Folding box) is folded from pre-cut brown and black cardboard, glued and in some places stapled on the back. The three-dimensional physicality of the minimalist object, which is based here on the basic shape of a flat square, results from the folds, which are preceded by a precise planning process. The title Faltschachtel emphasizes the construction principle of folding and the everyday nature of the non-artistic material with which Heerich worked on expanding the classical concept of sculpture. The edition details can be found on a paper sticker, on which the edition object is also numbered and signed.
Text: Birgit Eusterschulte