Berlin sculpture

Created for Berlin’s 750th anniversary in 1987, this striking sculpture once formed part of the city’s Skulpturenboulevard project. It stands as a powerful urban landmark: four sweeping steel tubes rise and curve in bold loops, reaching toward one another yet never meeting.

Art and symbolism in steel

The design is simple at first glance but layered with meaning. The tubes twist and approach, their near-connections halted just before contact. This deliberate separation symbolizes Berlin’s division during the Cold War, turning a stretch of public space into a living memory of a city once split in two.

Industrial materials give the work its strong presence. The steel surfaces catch changing light and weather, shifting from gleam to shadow as the day moves. From different viewpoints, the loops frame the street, the skyline, and the passersby, making the sculpture feel both monumental and connected to daily life.

A legacy of the Skulpturenboulevard

The piece emerged from a larger initiative that brought contemporary art into Berlin’s streetscape in the late 1980s. As part of that cultural moment, it linked modern artistic expression with the city’s complex history. Today, the looping forms continue to spark conversation, balancing elegance with a clear, enduring message about separation and the hope of connection.