bitforms gallery nyc is pleased to announce a first solo exhibition in the United States with artist Björn Schülke. Opening January 18, Überschall features five new sculptures in wood and fiberglass.

Björn Schülke (b. 1967, Germany) pursues a creative style that is equally influenced by modern abstraction and instruments of scientific measurement. The slow deliberate movements in his sculptures spatially consider mass and weight of form. Also influenced by Dadaist tradition and Jean Tinguely, the theme of an absurd machine is key in Schülke's work. Punctuated by their white glossy surfaces, Schülke's sharp three-dimensional compositions evoke the volume in Alexander Calder's mobiles and the sonic circuitry of Peter Vogel.

Meditative and shapely, Schülke's wiry linear forms give way to bulbous satellite bodies and ambient tonal reverberations. Suspended from the gallery ceiling, Schülke's Luftguitarre series sculptures are human in scale and resemble musical stringed instruments such as the banjo, violin and contrabass. Floating mid-air, the effortless rotation of these sculptures conjures a familiar echo of explosive chords ringing in a live concert. The simple auditory experience delivered by these objects contrasts with their visual complexity. Activated by the approach of visitors, a minimal pluck of a singular steel cord results from Schülke's elaborate and delicate construction of solar panels, wood, a motion sensor and propeller.

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