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Heidulf Gerngross Archistrates Franz West’s Nageltower. With Hofstetter Kurt and Angelo Roventa. In his exhibition project “The Game of the Mighty”, developed for the MAK, Gerngross archistrates the sculpture “Der Nagel” [The Nail] (2003) by Franz West, grouping together the potentials of various artists and architects such as Heimo Zobernig, Hofstetter Kurt and Angelo Roventa, and designing a scenario that expands the autonomy of the individual artistic works.

Heidulf Gerngross, Nageltower mit Korrektur von Franz West“, 2008/2009 © Heidulf Gerngross/MAK

Alongside his own works such as “Nageltower mit Korrektur von Franz West” [Nailtower with
Correction by Franz West] (2008/2009), Gerngross loosely associates further contributions by various artists and architects and “comments” on the sculpture “Der Nagel” by Franz West—which he regards as the embodiment of an essential form—in order to implement his idea of the process by which architecture comes into existence. In this way, Franz West becomes an ingenious giver of form, while artist and mathematician Hofstetter Kurt becomes the creator of the surface structure with his large-scale sculpture “Elementarwelle” [Elementary Wave] (2009) and architect Angelo Roventa becomes an antagonist with his project “Elastisches Wohnen” [Elastic Living] (2009), which includes variable elements and pieces of furniture. Heimo Zobernig, on the other hand, examines the issue of an expanded definition of sculpture with the negative mold “Der Nagel” [The Nail] (2003), while Milan Mijalkovic is inspired by West’s object to create an ideologically loaded work of architecture—a mosque with a nail as a minaret.