Felix Kiessling

FELIX KIESSLING
“Zucker”
2025

I had the pleasure of participating in the solo show of Felix Kiessling, “Zucker”, which opened on Friday, 13 June 2025, at Alexander Levy (Berlin), where we collaborated on three pieces: Sitzgelegenheit V, Mono Bench, and a small, round, complementary table.

From the press release, it reads:

“The final work, Sitzgelegenheiten (2025) and Mono Bench (2025), a collaboration with furniture designer Frederik Fialin, consists of two sculptural chairs, the visitor is invited to sit on. One is partly a found object and a reimagining of 1960s Berlin public concrete benches. The other is based on the same logic of utility, reproducibility, and durability, but translated into a new material realm.

The raw aluminium contact surfaces react over time to visitors’ use, amplifying the exhibition’s focus on bodily presence, physical traces, and the interplay between beings and material.” (Daniela Hochmann Labra, 2025)

Sitzgelegenheit V is a continuation of Kiessling’s earlier work in the same series, but now adapted to complement the overall aesthetic of this particular show, using large slices of solid aluminium as both seat and backrest.

For the Mono Bench, we measured and scanned the found public concrete bench used for Sitzgelegenheit V and created a laser-cut 8 mm aluminium version of it, almost a flat 2-D version. This means that the fundamental ergonomics of the new and old are almost exactly the same, but the feel, structure, form, and material are vastly different.

Inspired by the utilitarian, original brackets, we devised a simple joining system of aluminium bars attaching the seat and backrest to this laser-cut profile. We reinterpreted the original concept of the public bench in a contemporary context, both in terms of its message and material. The Mono Bench can be used by one or two persons if they feel adventurous. It is smaller than a bench, but larger than a chair.

Enquire here.