Fusion von Kugeln (Prototyp2) (Fusion of Spheres (Prototype 2)) consists of a pane of acrylic glass suspended horizontally from the ceiling on two steel cables fitted with springs. Chiming with the title, two converging rows of zinc spheres are embedded in the pane and ultimately merge. This object appears to deliberately hover somewhere between a purpose-free apparatus, a step-by-step visualization of a process, and an unconstrained, unspecified study. It likewise at times radiates a technical-metallic hardness, while at others evoking an almost poetic fragility and permeability. 

The sculpture, which was lent to documenta 4 in Kassel in 1968 and shown there alongside similar pieces, is part of a series of works known as “prototypes,” created by Walter Pichler in the second half of the nineteen-sixties and positioned at the crossroads between art, design and architecture. Rather than recalling classical sculpture, many of these objects are more reminiscent of strange, science-fiction-style experimental set-ups, visionary spatial studies or futuristic furniture. Echoing the spirit of the day, in these works Pichler often used novel materials that were atypical for sculpture of that era, such as aluminum, plastic or acrylic glass. Some of the objects can also moved via pneumatic systems, further underlining their apparatus-like air.