Experimenting with constructive principles is at the heart of Manuel Dück's work: minimalist, archetypal sculptures are created through the restrained use of materials and play with the specific material properties. They explore principles of unity, closed loops or infinity. Dück experiments: he plans, sketches, builds and optimizes to the point of maximum abstraction. Dück often finds the materials used by chance and so the works often have a certain patina. The resulting dialectic of reused material and perfected form, of (architectural) principle and its artistic processing, give his works a particular relevance in the current social discourse.

'Tensegrity' is the fifth exhibition at Nidus. For the first time, a solo exhibition by an artist is being shown.

What attracted you to sculpting?
That I can create something with my hands that previously only existed in my head.

Can you briefly tell us which works you selected for the Nidus Gallery exhibition? Why?
I found it interesting what you showed before and how I or rather which works of mine could fit the gallery. Surfaces and structures and the way materials are built and their adhesiveness have interested me for a long time. I then started to think about how I could link individual parts or elements and hold them together solely through their shape. This is how the new wall works came to life. For the rooms in the front and in the back I chose works that follow a similar principle I have created over the past years.

You studied in Karlsruhe with Prof. Harald Klingelhöller and have been living in Düsseldorf for a while now. How did the change of location affect you and your work?
In Karlsruhe I had my studio practically next to my own front door. I was able to go over spontaneously, even if it was only for an hour, and work on my ideas. The academy's workshops were also available to me. It's completely different now. Experimental work has taken a back seat and I am working more specifically on concrete implementations.

Before you went to the Karlsruhe Art Academy, you studied interior design. How much architecture is there in your sculpture?
That is always in the eye of the beholder. There are definitely parallels.

What was it like for you to move from student life at the art academy to the world of the art market?
I haven't noticed any significant difference yet. Except perhaps that there is less feedback from colleagues with other artistic positions.

It seems as if materiality plays a special role in your work. What materials do you use and why?
I often use things I find somewhere. I look and think about what it can actually do or what it could be other than what it is. In other words, I use materials or raw materials that are often not seen as such by many.

Are there certain topics that you work on and do you also want to send messages with your work?
I want to create spaces in my work. Haptically and mentally.

Your work is very minimalist and also radical. Have you always worked like this or has it only developed over time?
Yes, actually it has always been like this. These are two attributes my work is often characterized by.

Which sculptors do you find particularly exciting and have they particularly influenced you?
Eva Hesse. I find her story and what she achieved in her time very inspiring. Basically, there are many artists who can be attributed to Op Art or concrete art who interest me and therefore also influence me.

Manuel Dück

Manuel Dück (*1990) studied interior design in Detmold and sculpture at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe with Prof. Harald Klingelhöller and graduated as his master student in 2022. He has been living in Düsseldorf since then.

His work has been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions since 2018, including at the Kunstverein Heidelberg, at the Blue Velvet projects in Zurich and most recently at the exhibition-rich b10b Series in Düsseldorf.

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