UBS Monocle
Meticulously honing the process
Rahel Sarasin
Project manager and patinist, Kunstbetrieb
Whether producing bronze casts via traditional, lost wax processes, creating large-scale steel structures or 3D scanning, the Kunstbetrieb foundry’s ethos centres on close collaboration with artists. All manner of craftspeople are brought together under one roof in its cavernous warehouse to realise the visions of contemporary artists – no matter the material or scale.
“I believe that the foundation of any craft lies in one’s interest in it and the stamina to continuously learn and improve,” says project manager Rahel Sarasin, who also works as a patinist.
“For me especially, patina is a field where possibilities are endless. Besides the alchemist touch that it has, it’s the last step of the production of a work. Its look and feel can be changed dramatically with its final surface treatment, though it all builds on the long process that the work has been through until it reaches the patina workshop. It is unlike paint, where a layer is applied on top. The cast is always central to what the patina can do.”
Kunstbetrieb strives to find the solutions that are best suited to the unique needs of a work of art. In practice, this could mean finding unconventional approaches to production processes.
“Craft functions first and foremost as the foundation of our doing,” says Sarasin. “But we should widen the notion of what we mean by that: to communicate with diverse artists, to understand longstanding traditions in conceptualisation and craft and to be able to break with traditions if needed.”
Head to the UBS Art Studio in Hall 1 at Art Basel to see ‘Fallen Suns’ by artist Vanessa Billy. The three new sculptures were created at Kunstbetrieb.
