Brad Downey

Description

For over two decades, the US artist Brad Downey has been transforming the visual ‘furnishings’ of public space – signage, infrastructure, advertising – into poetic and gently absurd objects. For the 2026 Urban Art Biennale, Downey has turned his attention to an inconspicuous, almost forgotten spot at the very edge of the Erzhalle, situated directly alongside the railway line that has linked the cities of Saarbrücken and Trier since 1860. The artist saw this spot as a potential site for an alternative place to linger and transformed a solitary existing lamppost into its central feature. The lantern’s multiplied arms enter into direct dialogue with the local surroundings, winding their way over an old metal sign, intertwining with historic railway tracks that once led to the smelter, or stretching towards the two staircases that now provide access to this site. The work is both a sculpture and walk-through architecture. During the Biennale’s opening weekend, whilst the Unlock Book Fair was taking place on the adjacent roof of the Erzhalle, Downey’s installation was transformed into an open-air bar – a temporary use that the work not only permitted but actively facilitated.

in cooperation with Luka Murovec

Description

After the shutdown of the Völklingen Ironworks in 1986, the area of bars around the railway station was torn down. It was a popular stop-off at shift-change, when workers would call in for a quick beer before travelling home by bus or train. In its place came a huge hypermarket, which the council hoped would revive the city’s fortunes. Flat Glo by Berlin-based US artist Brad Downey reverses this development, at least for a brief moment. When viewed from the right perspective, his installation makes the hypermarket disappear. The motivation behind his work is less a nostalgic look at bygone, more-prosperous days. Rather, it responds to the argument, often ventured in planning debates, that the Globus hypermarket creates a barrier separating the city from the former ironworks and now World Heritage Site. This barrier is a big reason why many of the international visitors to the World Heritage Site fail to find their way into the city centre.

Daniel Bauer