Kris Lemsalu – Sculpture Chará

  • Location

    Vienna, Austria

  • Typology

    • Arts
  • Planning

    2023

  • Execution

    2023

  • Scopes

    • LPH1 Basic analysis construction planning
    • LPH2 Preliminary draft
    • LPH3 Preliminary structural draft
    • LPH4 Submission planning
    • LPH5 Execution planning
    • LPH6 Collaboration in tender procedures
    • LPH7 Support of the construction work
    • LPH8 Collaboration in the local construction supervison
  • Materials

    • Concrete
    • Steel & metal
  • Artist

    Kris Lemsalu

The five-meter-high and 3.5-meter-wide sculpture Chará – a temporary installation at Kunstplatz Graben in downtown Vienna – is designed in pink paint that is visible from afar. With the jaw and approximating heart shape, the artist refers to popular culture and draws from mythology. The sculpture will be on site from August 16, 2023 to November 8, 2023.

The construction of the artwork consists of a reinforced concrete slab and a tubular structure. The supporting steel tube is wrapped in a glass fibre reinforced plastic shell.

An insert with threaded rods was concreted into the reinforced concrete foundation. The two jaw halves are each provided with a 30mm thick steel plate, onto which the steel pipe was welded.