Last year, on behalf of the Saxon State Ministry of Finance in its function managing public buildings, the Free State of Saxony launched a “Kunst am Bau” competition (government sponsorship for art in and around public buildings) for the new Institute of Energy Technology building.

The artist Sophie Uchman (born in 1981 in Kassel) came out on top in an anonymous competition against six other submissions with her design, “Momentum.” The jury comprised members of the Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism (SMWK), the Bundesverband Bildender Künstlerinnen und Künstler (Federal Association of Visual Artists – BBK), Künstlerbund Dresden (Dresden Artist Association – KBD), two representatives of TUD’s Office for Academic Heritage and the Institute of Energy Technology itself, the SIB state enterprise for public real estate and construction management and the architecture firm which designed the new building, Schubert Horst Architekten.

Uchman studied at the Dresden University of Fine Arts (HfBK) and was one of Prof. Wilhelm Mundt’s Master’s students between 2015 and 2017. She now lives and works in Leipzig and is a member of the [ materialistin ] women artists’ collective. With her work – especially with ceramics – she explores the spatial translations of everyday objects into an abstract language of shapes, changing their proportions, often picking out specific details and depicting them detached from their context.

For the Institute of Energy Technology on TU Dresden’s campus, she designed a three-piece sculpture ensemble, which is located by the entrance of the 1950s Merkel Building. An abstract and minimalistic piece, Uchman’s “Momentum” echoes the tripartite structure of the new extension building behind it. The bronze plates have a dynamic relationship and seem to interact with each other, illustrating the idea of “Momentum.” Their shape invites us to reflect on the process through which they were made – the original impetus that triggered the bending of the plates. The sheen of the gleaming polished bronze surface recalls the thermal process of melting and casting bronze and brings to mind the idea of stored energy.

“Momentum” by Sophie Uchman is the latest artwork to join the portfolio of “Kunst am Bau” pieces on the TUD campus. Clay-plaster art, reliefs, murals, columns and sculptures by artists such as Hermann Glöckner, Eva Schulze-Knabe, Wilhelm Lachnit, Roland Fuhrmann, Jacqueline Knappe and André Tempel, go back as far as the late 19^th century, with the majority of the works dating from the 1950s onwards. A characteristic feature of the public art pieces belonging to TUD’s Office for Academic Heritage art collection is their specific reference to each of the institutes and research buildings where they are located.

The Free State of Saxony provided EUR 52,000 in funding for the competition and the realization of artwork, thus promoting contemporary visual art in Saxony. This measure is partly financed by tax revenue on the basis of the budget adopted by the Saxon Parliament.

Work and photo credits:
Sophie Uchman
Momentum. 2022
Bronze; approx. 270 x 200 x 77 cm
Institute of Energy Technology at the Merkel Building, Helmholzstr. 14, 01069 Dresden
Photo: materialmatters / Robert Vanis

Link to press photos: https://cloudstore.zih.tu-dresden.de/index.php/s/YXK2r9jrj7e4tNF

Further information:
Staatsbetrieb Sächsisches Immobilien und Baumanagement: https://www.sib.sachsen.de/kunst-am-bau-8033.html
Sophie Uchman: http://www.sophieuchman.de
Office for Academic Heritage, Scientific and Art Collections of TUD: https://tu-dresden.de/kustodie
Institute of Energy Technology of TUD: https://tu-dresden.de/ing/maschinenwesen/iet
 

Media inquiries:
Gwendolin Kremer
Research Associate Art Collections & Curatorial Director of the Gallery of the Office for Academic Heritage in the Görges Building
Office for Academic Heritage // Collections / Exhibitions
TUD Dresden University of Technology
Tel.: +49 351 46336405
Email: