Heinz Mack

Acquired from the artist by the present owner in 1967

Dieter Honisch, Mack Skuplturen 1953-1986, Düsseldorf, 1986, no. 147, pl. 130 as Lichtkrone, 1967, illustrated (with incorrect measurements)

The twin-peaked vertical elements are securely screwed to the base and, although a couple are slightly loose, the work is in good condition. This work was originally attached to an electric motor. A new motor can be requested from the Atelier Mack upon purchase of the work.
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Heinz Mack tried to express and convey in his works the principles of clarity, energy, movement and light. As this work demonstrates, he was particularly interested in light and the interrelation of sculpture with space. Even though the structure appears stable and strong, the reflections of light make it seem delicate. A group of twin-peaked parallel branches of different height winds its way upward. One may be reminded of some elements of a forest – trees standing closely together and light shimmering through the leaves; yet the sculpture has nothing of the darkness of a forest, meaning an area densely populated by trees and therefore more defined by shadow than by light.

Similarly to proponents of Op Art, such as Woijtech Fangor, Mack experimented with the effects  of the appearance of his sculptures in space and their perception by the viewer. The light reflections in Crown of Light and also in the preceding lot, Cube of Light, confer a sense of perpetual movement whose intensity changes according to the position of the light source and the viewers position. The reflections of this constant movement of light and shade create ephemeral 'drawings' onto nearby walls and surfaces.

Mack's works have the power to change the physical perception of the viewer and his or her interaction with the surrounding space. In this sense, rather than creating a mere optical illusion, Mack set out to create a work of art that inhabits and creates its own reality. 'There is a certain similarity to what happens in nature in the work, but it’s not comparable with nature: It’s not an illusion of nature: it has its own reality'. (Quoted in Heinz Mack: Zero and more, Ben Brown Fine Arts exhibition catalogue, 2015, p. 15).