Sculptor Julian Voss-Andreae hasn’t always been a practicing artist. Before moving to the United States in 2001, to pursue a BFA in sculpture, he was a quantum physicist—first at the Freie University Berlin and the University of Edinburgh, and later at the University of Vienna. While there, he and his team conducted a seminal experiment now commonly featured in many physics textbooks, demonstrating the quantum behavior for “buckyball” particles. It should come as no surprise, then, that once Voss-Andreae fully transitioned into art, physics would figure heavily into his practice.
Remnants of that previous profession are most clearly seen in Voss-Andreae’s “disappearing” sculptures. Built in slices of marine grade stainless steel, these sculptures often depict people suspended in poetic movement, whether it be locked in an intimate dance or perched in a meditative pose. Depending on the angle at which they’re viewed, the sculptures either possess an industrial, almost cold solidity or they vanish entirely, leaving behind metallic slivers that only hint at a specific shape.
It’s a visual effect directly inspired by the buckyballs Voss-Andreae once studied. First described by Max Planck and Albert Einstein, the internal oscillatory energy of this particular particle gives rise to the wave function of quantum physics, which Voss-Andreae has reimagined as evenly spaced, parallel slabs of steel. As his sculptures traverse time and space, their bodies are mapped upon these functions, which suddenly transform from mere mathematical realities into rhythmic, expressive gestures.
A selection of these quantum sculptures is currently on view at HOHMANN Fine Art’s Palm Desert gallery in California. Spanning over 15 works, the exhibition, titled Ontological Relief and the Illusion of Matter, serves as the artist’s first at HOHMANN, despite having been represented by the gallerist for more than 10 years.
“There was never enough work available to put together an exhibition,” Christian Hohmann, the gallery’s founder, explains. “Many times, sculptures would sell before they even arrived at the gallery. It took a concerted effort—and the generosity of several collectors who agreed to let us display their pieces before delivery—to make this exhibition possible.”
Ontological Relief and the Illusion of Matter is now open until May 16, 2025. To learn more about the artist, visit Julian Voss-Andreae’s website.
Before transitioning to a career in art, Julian Voss-Andreae was a quantum physicist studying the behavior of “buckyball” particles.
His previous research has directly influenced his creative practice, which revolves around “disappearing” sculptures that reimagine mathematical wave functions.
Built in slices of marine grade stainless steel, these sculptures either possess an industrial solidity or disappear entirely depending on the angle at which they’re viewed.
