Grid - Kinetic Light Sculpture
Stainless Steel Rods with anodised perforated aluminium
85x85cm, Depth 13.5cm
Prov: Aptos Cruz Galleries 2002
Private Collection Adelaide
$5,000-8,000
German-born artist, designer and metalsmith Frank Bauer has made a significant contribution to Australian contemporary art and design through a multidisciplinary practice encompassing jewellery, sculpture and innovative lighting systems. Born in Hanover in 1942, Bauer trained in silversmithing, industrial design and architecture, developing an artistic philosophy informed by the principles of the Bauhaus and European modernism. Following his arrival in Australia in 1971, he subsequently established himself in Adelaide, becoming associated with the JamFactory and later contributing to design education at the University of South Australia.
Bauer is particularly recognised for his illuminated sculptural constructions, known as Lichtbilder (light pictures), which explore the relationships between light, colour, movement and spatial perception. Employing precisely engineered stainless-steel frameworks, perforated anodised aluminium and innovative low-voltage lighting systems, these works create complex optical effects through the interaction of layered surfaces and reflected light. Drawing upon the traditions of Constructivism, kinetic art and modernist design, his compositions challenge conventional distinctions between painting, sculpture and functional objects.
Bauer’s work is represented in major Australian and international collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of South Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and Bauhaus-Archiv, Berlin. His contribution to contemporary art and design was further recognised in 2025 through a major exhibition at Adelaide’s Samstag Museum of Art, examining the development of his distinctive artistic practice and sustained investigation of light, structure and form.
