Pickup

Luc Mattenberger’s sculptures collage familiar mechanisms to create new objects: a motorbike meets an aircraft fuel tank to take on the appearance of a water-borne weapon; swirling helicopter blades on a concrete base cut through the air, restricting access to an exhibition space; a generator is suspended like a chandelier, illuminating a single light bulb. These works often have the guise of autonomy, but speak volumes about the energy and design that has driven mechanisation. Mattenberger is just the last gure to advance a functional lexicon and aesthetic developed over generations. His conjunctions of steel, aluminium, heavy-duty fabrics and rubber express practicality, precision and effectiveness, but might also be tools for sadomasochism. Mechanical power and human desires encounter human frailty.
Excerpt of Aoife Rosenmeyer’s text for AAA catalogue