Fritz Horstman

Fritz Horstman, Formwork for Branching Stream, 2017, Wood, Walnut

2017

Fritz Horstman was struck by the poetry in the unfinished state of the construction site, while working on a large building project, several years ago. He was drawn specifically to the space between the plywood walls that were raised as formworks, for the pouring of cement. That space could only exist for a few hours before the cement truck arrived, but at that moment, it was a revolving abstraction of potential, delineation, growth and destruction. Once filled, it was gone. The plywood was stripped away and the earth was backfilled. To suspend that moment, he began building models of formworks. Leaving them unfilled, they are perpetually unfinished. From models based directly on architecture, Horstman expanded to forms found in the landscape. Fritz Horstman works with the landscape and the perception of natural phenomena. He has recently exhibited his sculptures and installations in Brooklyn, Massachusetts, California, Japan, France and Norway and currently is featured in the “2016/17 deCordova Biennial," in Lincoln, Massachusetts. He has curated exhibitions in New Haven, New York and Svalbard. Recent residencies include Shiro Oni in Onishi, Japan and The Arctic Circle Residency. He received his MFA degree from MICA, in 2011 and his BA degree in studio art from Kenyon College, in 2001. He is an artist residency and education coordinator at the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, in Bethany, Connecticut. Musically, he is half of the duo, Spacelover.