Each Piece Is Unique
An analogue haven in the digital age: at the Kunstgießerei Schmäke, individual works of art are sculpted, cast and assembled in the fifth generation. Many internationally renowned artists highly value its services.
Anyone who enters the premises in Oberbilk, which at first glance might seem inconspicuous, would initially not suspect that works by famous artists are produced there - including Tony Cragg, Jörg Immendorff, Leon Löwentraut, Markus Lüpertz as well as Luise Kimme and Eva Hild. “Each piece has its distinctive character reflecting the uniqueness of each artist. It is what makes our work so interesting and varied,“ says Prof. h. c. Karl-Heinz Schmäke. He is the senior head of the approximately 30-strong team at the Kunstgießerei Schmäke and has also passed on his expertise as a lecturer at the Düsseldorf Art Academy for many years. Since its foundation in 1926, the Düsseldorf family business Schmäke has earned an international reputation in the art of casting. Many renowned artists and representatives of museums, cities and municipalities as well as churches rely on these skills. The Düsseldorf cityscape is also characterised by it in many places, e.g. on Königsallee with the “Bergische Löwen“ or behind the town hall with the “Wappenlöwen“.
“Each piece has its distinctive character reflecting
the uniqueness of each artist.”
The basis for the casting is always a model of the artist - either smaller or true to scale. From this, a negative mould is first made in the Kunstgießerei Schmäke. Based on the negative mould, the wax positive is created. This is then poured into a refractory mass where it is subsequently melted out. In the next step, bronze or aluminium is poured into the remaining cavities. After the bronze or aluminium casting has cooled down, the so-called chasers put the finishing touches to the works of art in the workshop. Finally, Schmäke also offers the transport and assembly of the object on site - wherever that may be in the world. The range of services also includes the restoration of art objects, of art objects, e.g. museum pieces.
Thus, the Kunstgießerei Schmäke has already produced numerous works with international appeal. One of the most impressive is certainly the 18-metre high and 8.2-tonne aluminium Hercules by renowned artist Markus Lüpertz. It stands on the 100-metre-high former pithead tower of the Nordstern colliery in Gelsenkirchen. “Back then, we went to Lüpertz’s studio in Berlin three times beforehand and cast three parts - first the legs, then the torso, then the head,” remembers Professor Karl-Heinz Schmäke. Another example is the project by artist Ida Ekblad in Oslo. “One-square-metre pieces were cast for each of these. With a total area of over 170 square metres, our entire workshop was full. Finally, the model was transported to Norway in four parts by lorry, assembled on site with a crane, welded and primed, and the artist painted it at the end,” he recalls. The three head columns developed by Tony Cragg in the Olympic Stadium in Turin are equally impressive. For each of the 12-metre-high installations, the Kunstgießerei Schmäke also demonstrated its unparalleled full service from casting to assembly.
City Museum director Dr Susanne Anna and Prof Karl-Heinz Schmäke, head of the Schmäke Art Foundry, in front of exhibits on display at the City Museum in 2018.
“We specialise in complex work and that’s what sets us apart from the competition,” says Prof. Karl-Heinz Schmäke. Because over the course of five generations, a lot of expertise has come together in the family business. “When a complicated model is delivered, you have to be able to understand this work deeply and have an overview: How can I cast it? How many parts do I have to saw off in order to be able to cast the main body and then later put the whole thing back together as a unit? These are empirical values,” he adds. Even if the craft itself has hardly changed during all this time, at least some materials and processes have. For example, in the early 1970s silicone came onto the market and replaced bone glue, which made the moulding work much easier. Also, back then you used to have to get up at 3 pm in the morning to heat the coke, today you can set the start of the heating process automatically. Also, the purely physical work has become less overall thanks to aids such as cranes etc. However, it is still not possible to carry out a complete casting process at the touch of a button. After all, “each work is simply so different from the next”.
“We specialise in complex work and that’s what
sets us apart from the competition.”
A chaser adds the finishing touches to a work of art.
Two professions work hand in hand in casting: the art and bell founder and the metal sculptor or chaser. The art and bell founder builds the mould, prepares the casting and casts. The metal sculptor finishes, welds together and assembles. Both three-year apprenticeships can be completed at Schmäke - and if required, a master’s degree can be added after completing a dual course of study. Despite the increasingly digitalised world, there are obviously still many young people who are attracted to this deeply analogue work.
“We receive a relatively large number of applications for our job advertisements. Often, they start with an internship to find out if they enjoy it at all. So we basically have two new apprentices every year, one for each skilled profession,” explains junior manager Dominik Schmäke. More challenging, on the other hand, is the search for experienced skilled workers. “It is really difficult. One option can then also be to fall back on similar occupational fields, such as metal workers. They know the tools and have a feeling for welding - but it also involves a lot of teaching for us,” explains junior manager Gillian Schmäke.
Looking to the future, the team at Kunstgießerei Schmäke is planning an expansion of the property, a kind of showroom. “We simply urgently need more space so that we can set up the large objects in particular and our customers can get a good idea of what the sculpture looks like,” says Prof. Karl-Heinz Schmäke. The Kunstgießerei Schmäke is an international flagship for Düsseldorf combining a 1,000-year-old craft with modern demands. •
Selected references:
Artists:
e.g. Vuslat Dogan Sabanci, Leunora Salihu, Bert Gerresheim, Joachim Jurgelucks, Ida Ekblad, Philipp Röcker.Museums:
e.g. Lehmbruck Museum Duisburg: restoration of sculptures by Ehlers, Marcks and Stadler.Churches:
e.g. portals of the basilica in Kevelaer, portals of Cologne Cathedral and Salzburg Cathedral.Works by the Schmäke fine art foundry can be found throughout Germany, Europe, North and South America and Asia.
Words Tom Corrinth
Pictures Kunstgießerei Schmäke /
Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf/Melanie Zanin