Pawel and Kosma Althamer, Lump Hammer, 2014. SOLD OUT
Pawel Althamer is known for his exploration of sculptural and environmental forms produced outside of the normal means for artistic production. His practice usually explores subjects of authorship and highlights different social situations when unexpected and rich new objects are produced by other people.
For the ICA, Pawel Althamer has cast a hammer that his son, Kosma, made from paper. The hammer is based on the weapon employed by the superhero Thor, popularised most recently in a series of Hollywood films. The original was made by his son to play with and reproduces the nuanced and detailed surface matter of the toy, which was not intended to be seen as an art object but rather an improvised aid to a child's imagination.
Althamer draws attention to the rich cultural associations of the hammer which are contained in such an object. The resulting sculpture is suggestive and produces a complex web of different meanings, from the hammer and sickle of the soviet symbol, to the german word for hammer - der Hammer - which forms part of the artists own name and identity.
Medium: Bronze
Size: 23cm
Edition of 10,
Accompanied by a certificate jointly signed by Pawel Althamer and his son Kosma.
Price: £1.800 SOLD OUT
Members Price: £1.350
This limited edition Pawel Althamer scrulpture is available at ICA London
