Sebastian Welzel

Berlin artist Sebastian Welzel intertwines two creative disciplines, offering onlookers an entirely new visual experience. He combines methods of sculpture-making with those of abstract art to create three-dimensional imagery. While minimal and geometrically abstract on the surface, his works emerge spatially through relief-like structures. The artist combines adaptive design and color-contrasting components in a simple yet convincing manner to evoke a multi-faceted meaning.

Welzel’s creations are, at their core, modular reliefs of uniformly arranged tetrahedrons with protruding, pyramid-like tips. By individually coloring the triangular surfaces, an intense contrast of hue emerges from the surface. The form and components of the works are minimally related, yet maximally aesthetic. In a certain sense, they are tilted kinetic sculptures, equally transferring their color into space and surface.

Depending on the angle of the viewer, the works change in appearance. The surrounding light determines the concentration, hue, and intensity of the sculpture’s colors, which are also inherently shaded by the elevated tetrahedrons. The vibrancy of the shapes, in combination with the shadows of the raised format, purposefully illicit altered perceptions. In this way, a minimalist concept is made doubly effective through the eye of the viewer. Each work of art is assembled by hand, individually painted, and presents a unique appearance.

The titles – derived from music theory – suggest a synesthetic connection as well. Color and form establish, in a sense, a three-dimensional wall of sound that is felt metaphorically by the viewer.

Undoubtedly, Welzel’s creations generate strong feelings. The reliefs’ structures are also reminiscent of sound-absorbing studio wall coverings, which intentionally amplify and modulate tones and pitches. Despite these works being visual experiences, so much is felt. Tones are intensified while, in turn, other moods are softened.