ERICH REUSCH
Electrostatic object, untitled, 1970
Plexiglass, coal dust
XX x XX cm BH

The artist Erich Reusch, who was born in Wittenberg-Lutherstadt in 1925, can be said to have had a decisive influence on the development of sculpture in the fifties and sixties. It is not a singular work that is significant to him. Important for the trained architect is the staging of a room, whether in a building or outdoors. In this way, he develops multi-part, complex constellations of forms and forces. His aim is to make the space tangible for the visitor. He creates a balance of power between the works that makes his effect immediately noticeable.
On the first floor of the DKM Museum, Erwin Reusch has installed an entire room that is equipped with various works, such as photomontages, drawings and the so-called electrostatic objects. The objects are deliberately placed, symmetry is dispensed with. The visitor finds himself here in a force field of energetic interrelationships. The impression is reinforced by the fact that the viewer moves around the room. In addition, the possibility of seeing through the electrostatic objects allows the establishment of countless interrelationships. It is a game with change and transformation, the growth and the ebbing of tension. This impression for the viewer is heightened by the materiality of the electrostatic objects. There is a tension between the hard, sharp-edged Plexiglas and the diffusely breathed coal dust. Between the rigid monumentality of the Plexiglas boxes and the flowing movement of the soot that adheres to the panes, there is another moment of tension. These works are subject to a constant process of change. In this way, the glass panes can become electrostatically charged by friction or by induction of a shortwave transmitter and the structures of the coal dust can be constantly given new shapes. Therein lies the fascination of these works.

Gert Kreytenberg, 2015