Barna Von Sartory
Austria
Untitled / Forma viva 1970
steel plates and crossbeams / 300 x 1600 x 250 cm / Swimming Recreational Centre, Ravne
The ‘bridge-like’ construction of the sculpture with its unusual industrial aesthetic form emphasises symbolically the technological properties of steel, the central construction material of the industrial age. The monumental cross-beams illustrate the essence of the structural possibilities of steel material, while the ‘applicative’ implementation with round guides and the visual underscoring of engineering details (screws) bring the plastic object closer, intentionally, to the field of industrial design. Located at a crossroads, the Bridge (Most) seems to connect the Čečovje terrace with the hill where the castle and the sports park are located.
Barna von Sartory was born in 1927 in Pécs, Hungary. In 1950, he graduated in architecture, and in 1961 in sculpture. His work has been exhibited in solo shows in Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He used to participate regularly in international symposia on sculpture: Berlin, Germany, in 1962; St. Margarethen, Austria, in 1963; Vyšné Ružbachy, Slovakia, in 1966; Ostrava, the Czech Republic, in 1967; and Proctor, Vermont, USA, in 1968. While creating the sculpture in Ravne na Koroškem in 1970, he was teaching experimental environmental design at the National Academy for Graphic Arts, Printing and Advertising in Berlin. A citizen of Austria, he has been running the Barna von Sartory art house in the township of Grimme near Brüssow, a town in the Uckermark district, in northeastern Germany.
