Winter/Hoerbelt

Wolfgang Winter (*1960) and Berthold Hörbelt (*1958) have worked together since 1992 as the artist duo Winter/Hoerbelt. They initially became known for their characteristic “crate houses” – walk-in sculptures made of beverage crates as meeting places in the public space. Like these, all the works in their varied canon follow an expanded concept of sculpture, and often incorporate a physical interaction with the viewer – at times playful, at times with an eye on the functional use of the objects. As their sculptural material, Winter/Hoerbelt use everyday industrial products, such as stainless steel mesh, mattress springs or car rear lights. They transform these materials into intriguing art works, inducing an altered perception of space, and at the same time a new perspective on the aesthetic qualities of the original material and on the surroundings. In this, light and transparency play just as large a part as colour, serial alignment or reflectivity.     

Wolfgang Winter first studied music in Cologne, then trained as a stone sculptor and subsequently (1985-1989) studied at the Kunsthochschule Kassel and at the Städelschule in Frankfurt, where he has taught sculpture since 1993. Berthold Hörbelt also first qualified as a stone sculptor, then studied at the Kunsthochschule Kassel (1984-1989). Both artists now live and work in Frankfurt, Hörbelt also in Havixbeck.

Winter/Hoerbelt have created projects all over the world for the public space: in many European countries as well as in the USA, Egypt, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam or Brazil. Their works have been shown internationally in leading exhibitions – for example, the Skulptur.Projekte Münster (1997), the Biennales at Venice (1999) or Liverpool (2002), or the Triennale at Yokohama (2005) – and are represented in numerous public and private collections.