For several years the sculpture existed in a smaller version made of painted cardboard, but by orders of AKO Art Foundation has now been realized to its proper scale. Through dialogue with the artist, Paul Brand, the sculpture has been produced by the German company Arnold, recognized for their production in metal in both industry and art. The company is behind sculptures by famous artists such as Jeff Koons, Olafur Eliasson and Anne Imhof.
Upon its arrival in Kristiansand, the sculpture has now gained a new name. In almost every city there are monuments which become meeting points for civilian life and sometimes defines how locals perceive a particular place. Perhaps in time, this sculpture will also gain such status. It was important for the artist that the title reflects the work, but also that it was easy to remember. Despite its abstract and nonfigurative shape, it can still resemble a human body, with its two constructions placed on top of each other. The sculpture has therefore been give the name Madammen (the lady).
Paul Brand was born in 1941 in Solothurn, Switzerland. Between 1958-1963 he studied graphic design at Bern Academy of Arts in Biel, Switzerland. The year after graduating he moved to Oslo where he worked as a graphic designer and advertising artist. In 1969 he created his first work of art for The Federation of Norwegian Industries.
Brand worked with the abstract form, dabbling in sculpture, drawing and paintings. He also taught as a professor in the time period 1982-1984 and 1992-1998 at The Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts as well as lecturing as professor at Form og Farge NTH, Trondheim. In the late 1980s he joined the artist collaboration 3+1 with fellow artists Terje Roalkvam and Dag Skedsmo. They worked with the aim of bringing forward the constructive idiom in Norway and exhibited with internationally recognized artists such as Sol LeWitt, Carl Andre, Richard Long and Matti Kujasalo.
