Echo

History of the work

Above the pavilion and courtyard of the dental clinics at Freiburgstrasse 7 hovers an installation in painted steel: 'Echo' by Hanswalter Graf. The City of Bern and the Swiss artists' lexicon SIKART date it to 1996, while the city heritage office's building inventory records Graf's artwork under the year 1997.

The work belongs to the expansion of the clinics in the 1990s. The main building dates from 1953/54; between 1992 and 1996 Kiener Architekten added an extension on the courtyard side for the Canton of Bern. Above the main entrance on Freiburgstrasse there is also a bronze figure by Gustave Piguet from the time of construction, so this site holds art for buildings from two different periods.

According to SIKART, Graf was born in Oberdiessbach on 19 March 1961 and grew up in Thun. After teacher training college in Spiez (1976–1981) he studied the integration of art and architecture under Christian Megert at the Düsseldorf Art Academy from 1986 to 1993. From 1983 to 1988 he was a member of the Thun artists' group Mühlein. In 1987 he received the Louise Aeschlimann grant and in 1996, the year 'Echo' was made, the City of Thun's prize for visual art. Shortly after his studies he decided to work exclusively in public space.

SIKART describes his method: first he studies the surroundings together with the people who use the place, then they experiment and build together, often with discarded things such as building-site leftovers, old doors or windows. According to the lexicon, his other works in Bern include 'Ganges' at Junkerngasse 37 (1999) and 'Nicholson' at the training workshops in the Felsenau (2003). In 2019 the Thun online magazine Plattform J reported that Graf had spent six months in the La Boca district of Buenos Aires on a studio grant from the City of Thun, realising projects there with local residents.

The work is best seen from below, where the painted steel structure seems to float above the pavilion and courtyard.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Kultur Stadt Bern, Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (offene Daten) · SIKART: Hanswalter Graf · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Freiburgstrasse 7 (Zahnmedizinische Kliniken) · Plattform J: Monumentale Wahrzeichen im öffentlichen Raum (22. Januar 2019) · Wikimedia Commons: Installation Echo (Hanswalter Graf 1996)