Owl Sculpture by Ottmar Hörl

Artist: Ottmar Hörl

Available in various colors.

Available in a signed edition limited to 500 copies per color.

The more than 2,000-year-old proverb by the Greek poet Aristophanes is taken literally for the first time and put into practice: in the immediate vicinity of the Olympic stadium, a 4,000-square-meter "Owl Grove" is being created, a structural plan that transforms the five Olympic rings into squares in terms of form and color. His sensual examination of what is actually superfluous has created a momentum that fascinates many: the owl, also a symbol of wisdom, becomes a sign of understanding across borders and carries this idea as the artist's message throughout the world.

"I want to present a surprising variation on this saying by staging something familiar in an unfamiliar way and thus creating a creative process." Ottmar Hörl ignores the instructions implied in Aristophanes' sentence and presents a surprising interpretation of the classic proverb: it is a matter of "Taking the word at its word, making visible what one does not usually do, and thus creating new facts." Humor is a conscious part of his artistic concept.

With his large-scale sculpture "Carrying Owls to Athens," Ottmar Hörl continues the temporary series design principle that characterizes many of his works. Being and dying are essential elements of his concept of social sculpture. "I have said goodbye to the idea of creating works for eternity," says Ottmar Hörl. "I am interested in the idea of appearing and disappearing."

The design

Ottmar Hörl, a multidisciplinary German artist, is internationally recognized for his avant-garde style and his boldness in undertaking colossal projects. Sculptures, serial sculpture installations, photographs, and conceptual objects: his goal is to offer a type of art accessible to everyone, notably by democratizing sculpture by exhibiting gigantic and radical projects in public spaces.
It is today his garden gnome Ben, presented in Cologne for the first time in 2005, that contributes to his great fame: his installations are regularly exhibited in European capitals.
Keen on the democratization of art, he uses simple materials like PVC. Highly involved in the world of Fine Arts, he is one of the founding members of the Nuremberg Academy in 1999, of which he became president in 2005.
He has been rewarded with numerous prizes granted for his great creativity and his radical and offensive vision of promoting the democratization of sculpture.
He is also a founding member of the Fomalhaut group in 1985: a design, art, and architecture studio where he contributed to the design, in collaboration with architects, of impressive design pieces such as Living Room: a contemporary residence in the medieval center of Gelnhausen in Germany.