Purism in Concept, Form and Materials

Single-handedly literally, without heavy machinery or cranes, the sculptor Hermann Rosa constructed studio spaces as accessible large-scale sculptures made of exposed concrete. On the one hand, they are open and cleverly composed surfaces, resembling the works of De Stijl or Bauhaus in the dematerialised spiritual classic modernity style while on the other hand they consist of commonplace heavy materials, similar to the down-to-earth beton brut of his contemporaries Paul Rudolph or Le Corbusier. This volumes sheds light on how Rosa's sculpting power and architectural spatial design melt into a singular expression. Radically and precisely he focused on the spatial and objective, foregoing any kind of colour and decoration, with all details playing a subordinate role to the clarity of shape. Based on new and historic photos, sketches, plans and texts, his exceptional body of work is examined and placed in an international context.