SCULPTURES IN PALSGAARD MANOR PARK

Stålrotunde (Steel Rotunda)

Artist: Erik A. Frandsen

Erik A. Frandsen's monumental steel cylinder appears, on the one hand, like an object that has landed from outer space. It is shiny, polished, curved steel – a beautiful piece of art in the middle of nature. On the other hand, it reflects everything around it. Nature - and you as a viewer - suddenly become part of the artwork. The piece offers a parallel reality, which is a recurring theme for Erik A. Frandsen. So too is the flower, the cut flower, as a symbol of impermanence.

Inside the cylinder, the only thing you cannot see your reflection in are the engraved flowers. They cannot be changed. Death is not up for discussion, and neither is the cycle of life or the passage of seasons, which we witness in the mirrored surroundings. The seasons change, and the cycle of life continues endlessly. A work that invites reflection...

See more images in the gallery below.

About the artist

Erik A. Frandsen, born in 1957, is a self-taught visual artist. He began his artistic journey by travelling around Europe, acquiring various skills along the way. In the early 1980s, he helped found the artist community "Værkstedet Værst" with, among others, Michael Kvium, Christian Lemmerz and Lars Nørgaard.

Throughout his career, Erik A. Frandsen has worked in a wide range of media - from painting and drawing to neon, mosaic and steel. His motifs, are equally diverse, ranging from the more abstract, "wild" painting to figurative, pop art-like works by family photographs.

Characteristic of his work is the treatment of the surface as a surface in itself, rather than as a basis for the three-dimensional illusion. He is also concerned with the temporal aspect of translating a fleeting, everyday image into something static and slow - such as when he transforms a photograph captured in a moment into crafted mosaic. 

Erik A. Frandsen is represented at most major Danish art museums, including the National Gallery of Denmark (Statens museum for kunst), AROS, Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, as well as in several international collections. Horsens Art Museum also holds an extensive collection of his works. He has also completed a number of larger decorations, one of the more well-known is his decorative work in Frederik VIII's Palace at Amalienborg.