IMG 6988-001-Broken Butterflies

Cass Sculpture Foundation, Goodwood, West Sussex.

Thomas Keisewetter’s Broken Butterflies (Version 1) is made up of a series of isolated steel shapes that combine to create a vibrant, abstract form. Kiesewetter begins his process by crafting each individual section of the sculpture out of paper, cardboard and tape, allowing the chance pliability of the material to engender the sculpture’s final profile. Describing the fabrication process as “like rolling a dice”, Broken Butterflies is partially an investigation into the agency of the artist, coincidence and chance. The use of corten steel – a material that weathers naturally, changing colour over time as layers of rust form on its surface – contributes to the sense in which Keisewetter exercises the limitations of his involvement.

For Keisewetter, an integral component to the work is the multiplicity of interpretations it offers the viewer. Broken Butterflies shifts and shimmers as different coherent forms rise up from certain angles, only to disappear as you continue to walk around the structure. The title contributes to the sense of disjointed beauty achieved by the mass of steel, which can be grasped fleetingly in a multitude of momentary forms.