Carsten Höller’s Spheres
Carsten Höller’s Spheres
Posted 24.08.22
In collaboration with UAP, Carsten Höller’s Spheres is a part of KAUST ART which is an extensive program of artwork commissions that celebrate the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology as an international platform of collaboration and exchange.
The primary focus of the program is to interpret and present interdisciplinary art and design that stimulates creativity and interaction by engaging prominent artists and designers from around the globe, the project unites East and West to create site-specific solutions exploring world-class practices.
Carsten Höller’s Spheres are informed by the legacy of 1940’s scientist and philosopher Buckminster ‘Bucky’ Fuller, who sought to make the most efficient shape out of the least material. Fuller’s legacy is enduring: the sphere is at once the stuff of sci-fi fantasy as well as of the familiar, reminiscent of everyday objects such as soccer balls.
Carsten Höller first presented the Sphere project in Basel’s Museum for Contemporary Art in 1998. He has redeveloped the concept in white brass for the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) International Art Program. Three spheres, each 2.2m in diameter, are positioned at the north entry spine of the university campus. The spheres are based upon a human scale, designed to be entered through the large, round openings.