Ottmar Hoerl (born 1950) is one of the most important contemporary artists in Germany.

His sculptural works deal with the topic of normalization, the equalization of everyday objects that surround us in huge amounts in our everyday lives. But he does it in an exceedingly humorous way, and his "exhibitions" are like spectacles when he "carries" a huge swarm of owls to Athens, sets up hundreds of bears in front of the Brandenburg Gate or shows 1,000 meerkats on a "company outing" - all of them squeaky-colorful plastic.

"Focused on a place or distributed in the urban space, my installations turn into visual and tangible obstacles to make you think, make a moment of a break."

His most famous action was dedicated to the artist Duerer and his world-famous rabbit watercolor. The main market in Nuremberg during the "Big Hare Game" in 2003 was filled with no less than 7,000 rabbits filled. Ottmar Hoerl studied from 1975 to 1979 at the Academy of Visual Arts Staedelschule in Frankfurt am Main, from 1981 at the University of Art and Design in Duesseldorf with Klaus Rinke as a professor. In 1985 he founded the group "Formal Skin" with the architects Gabriela Seifert and Goetz G. Stoeckmann. At the beginning of the 1990s, Hoerl was visiting a professor at the Graz University of Technology. Since 1999 he holds a professorship for fine arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Nuremberg, from October 2005 to October 2017 he was president of the academy.

Hoerl's work focuses on the aesthetics of everyday culture. He defines the concept of sculpture "as an organizational principle" and discovers this principle in its environment, in which many objects of everyday use are standardized and standardized.

His works can be found in many national and international collections. Ottmar Hoerl lives and works in Nuremberg and Wertheim.

An alloy of copper with other metals (especially with tin) used since ancient times.

Bronze casting:

When casting bronze, artist usually applies the lost-wax technique which is dating back more than 5000 years. It's the best, but also the most complex method of producing sculptures.

Sculpture "The Book Reader" by Ernst Barlachs is shown here as an example:

First, the artist forms a model of his sculpture. It is embedded in a liquid silicone rubber composition. Once the material has solidified, the model is cut out. The liquid wax is poured in the negative mould. After cooling down, the wax casting is removed from the mould, provided with sprues and dipped into ceramic mass. The ceramic mass is hardened in a kiln, and the wax flows out (lost mould).

Now we finally have the negative form, into which the 1400 ° C hot molten bronze is poured. After the bronze had cooled down, the ceramic shell is broken off and the sculpture comes to light.

Now the sprues are removed, the surfaces are polished, patinated and numbered by the artist himself or, to his specifications, by a specialist. Thus, each casting becomes an original work

Designation for an art object (sculpture, installation), which is produced according to the will of the artist in multiple copies in a limited and numbered edition.

Artist's multiple contributed to "democratization" of art as the work was made available and affordable for a wider audience.