Joel Shapiro

This catalogue accompanies Joel Shapiro’s expansive installation in the skylit main hall of Museum Ludwig, where fifteen vividly painted wooden beams are suspended in space.

The work transforms the architectural volume into a dynamic sculptural field in which visitors are invited to move and engage. With each shift in perspective, spatial relationships, colors, and boundaries appear to change, revealing the responsive interplay between viewer and work.

Extensive photographic documentation captures the temporal and spatial qualities of the installation. Essays by art historian Richard Shiff and curator Julia Friedrich provide context and interpretation, situating Shapiro’s approach within the history of modern sculpture while reflecting on the experiential nature of his work.

The publication offers an in-depth view of a sculptural practice that challenges conventional notions of form and space through tension, balance, and abstraction.