2023-04-03
„Ein Glas Wasser, bitte (A Glass of Water, Please)“
What happens when two colours meet? Katharina Grosse explores this fundamental artistic question in her first work on glass, ‘Ein Glas Wasser, bitte (A Glass of Water, Please). At the centre of the piece are the complementary colours blue and orange and “how these colours mix, cross, repel, disturb and enrich each other in a watery state”, says the artist about her design. “It’s about the energy that is created in the process. This energy has a transformational power that can inspire and excite all who are in front of or behind the glass wall. It shows that the world is in flux.”
What does Grosse’s work on glass have to do with the mre?
The piece was developed especially for the Reinhard Ernst Museum. For this, the artist even changed her usual medium: Katharina Grosse usually works on canvas or with an elaborate spray technique, but for the new museum in Wiesbaden she is creating a work on glass weighing several tonnes.
The large stained-glass wall delimitates one of the museum’s key areas: the colour lab. Here, researchers young and old can experiment with the almost inexhaustible manifestations of painting at various digital experimental stations. Grosse, who describes her works as prototypes of the imagination, creates the best possible setting for this with A Glass of Water, Please.
How large will the work be?
Grosse’s colour rush can also be experienced through the dimensions of the work: with a width of approx. 839 cm and a height of approx. 400 cm, it is made out of eight glass panels, each weighing approx. 330 kg.
How does the manufacturing process work?
The glass manufactory Derix Glasstudios in Taunusstein took on the realisation of the design. The workshop specialises in highly complex works on glass, and has a long-standing tradition in working with artists and craftsmen. The team also executed Gerhard Richter’s spectacular stained-glass window for Cologne’s cathedral.
Fusing and airbrushing, etching and painting, thermal deformation – a combination of different types of glass and glass processing techniques were used over months of detailed work on Katharina Grosse’s piece. A team of eight employees was involved in the execution.
The first step was the design created by Katharina Grosse. This was digitised and served as the basis for drawings, plans and templates. Then the glass was cut.
Different types of glass make up the character of this work: Laminated safety glass was used for the support panes, and these are covered on both sides with artistically processed glass, hand-blown using traditional techniques and then combined with fused glass elements.
Traditionally hand-blown glass is particularly intense in colour and has a unique surface structure. The staff at Derix Glass Studios worked on the surface using acid to create additional structures and colour shades.
Glass enamel colours were also used, which were applied onto the panes by hand and then burnt into the glass surface with a torch and thus made durable. Furthermore, so-called fusing glasses were used, which were laid out as glass powder in the kiln and then melted together at a high-temperature to form organic shapes. The interplay of the fusing and hand-blown glass creates unique colour combinations.
Are there further works on glass specifically created for the mre?
In addition to Katharina Grosse, other artists are represented in the foyer of the Reinhard Ernst Museum through works on glass, including MadC and Karl-Martin Hartmann. The elaborate glass works will be installed in the Reinhard Ernst Museum during the summer of 2023.