STEEL PLANTS
STEEL PLANTS
YEAR: 2026 EXHIBITION VIEW: "WASTE ART" at Sudhaus Ischl Salinen Austria, Salinenplatz 1 4820 Bad , & Gallery AM FLUSS, Hasnerallee 2, 4820 Bad Ischl, AUSTRIA
DATE: 17.04. 2026 - 16.05.2026
PHOTOCREDITS: © Ruth Mateus-Berr
shown below: STEEL PLANTS Sculpture, 2026, Metal shavings & Light

DESCRIPTION
TITLE: STEEL PLANTS
FORMAT: various
TECHNIQUE: sculptural setting of steel metal shavings and light
MATERIAL: metal, LED light
Archives of the Living. Painting the Memory of Endangered Plants.
Scientific research becomes painterly narration through a process in which botanical, medicinal, historical, pharmaceutical and mythological knowledge is transformed into multilayered visual structures. Painting functions as a living archive in which endangered plants become carriers of ecological, historical and cultural memory. Rather than depicting botanical specimens, the works reveal plants as active agents embedded in networks of knowledge, resilience and coexistence.
The accompanying installation series "Steelplants" extends this investigation through the use of recycled steel shavings—by-products of industrial manufacturing. As one of the world’s most recyclable materials, steel represents the possibility of circular material cycles and responsible resource use. By transforming industrial remnants into plant-like forms, the installations establish a dialogue between endangered biodiversity and sustainable material practices. They invite viewers to reconsider what is perceived as waste and reveal how transformation, regeneration and ecological responsibility can emerge from industrial matter itself.
Together, the paintings and installations form an expanded archive of the living, in which biological and material systems are understood as interconnected carriers of memory. They reflect on biodiversity, circularity and the shared responsibility for preserving both ecological and cultural heritage.
More information
Latest Exhibition Context:
The work is part of the exhibition project waste-art.net, currently presented at the Sudhaus Bad Ischl and unfolding across multiple locations.













