Heinz Mack (b. 1931)

Executed in 1974, Flügelobjekt (Winged-Object) bears witness to Heinz Mack’s lifelong pre-occupation with the use of light and motion to open up new forms of perception as a reaction to the subjective character of the prevailing art informel. Concerned with the visualization of the movement of light, its vibration within the artwork and the dematerialization of the object, Mack began his investigation into wing-like structures such as Flügelobjekt in the 1960s coming to fruition in the 1970s. Compressing and distorting an aluminium grid, developed for the aerospace industry, the honeycomb structure in front of the shimmering background evokes remarkably sensual optical impressions that vary from perspective to perspective. Iconographically, Mack’s wings are the static equivalent of his rotors, a revolving relief element that refracts light in various ways depending on the surface of the structure. The wing motif bears a special significance to Mack as the connection between dream and reality. As the artist explains ‘I believe in angels; I believe in spiritual energies which cannot be reached by thinking in the abstract. And that is why I see in Leonardo [Da Vinci] the outstanding artist; - he was an engineer who painted angels’ (D. Honisch, Mack. Sculptures 1953-1986, Dusseldorf 1987, p. 18).