alex chinneck ties 450-year-old column into a knot

known for his public art interventions, british artist alex chinneck has unveiled his latest pieces at the german städtische galerie kornhaus in kirchheim unter teck in an exhibition called ‘birth, death and a midlife crisis.’ playing with the architectural aspect of the 450-year-old columns found inside the space, the artwork questions materiality by tying one of the columns into a knot.

the exhibition can be found at the german städtische galerie kornhaus in kirchheim unter teck
all images by charles emerson

‘I like to give fluidity to typically inflexible things, transcending their material nature,’ says alex chinneck. ‘the columns are the prominent feature in the 450-year-old museum and this intervention took an opportunity to defy logic and distort history. I wanted to create the impression that we had only changed what was already physically present in the museum and the work was born through the manipulation, rather than introduction, of material. with this approach, the objective was to produce something sculpturally bold but contextually sensitive.’

it will run until april 8th

accompanying the knot column, chinneck has also placed a smaller sculpture of a broom leaning against the wall that has also been knotted. the exhibition runs until 8 april.

the column has been tied into a knot, playing with its materiality

a close detail of what it looks like

an extra straight column has been added to maintain symmetry

the broom also features the knot

it’s the first time in five years that the artist makes small-scale pieces