Black Notebook: Swiss sculptor Kurt Laurenz Metzler has died

Swiss artist Kurt Laurenz Metzler, known for his colorful sculptures in fiberglass and polyester, has died at the age of 83 in Zurich. The sculptor was creative until the end.

The artist died last Friday morning following a long illness, his son Lorenzo Metzler told Keystone-ATS on Sunday, returning to information published Sunday in the German-speaking press.

Born on January 26, 1941 in Balgach (SG), Kurt Laurenz Metzler studied at the Zurich School of Arts and Crafts and trained as a sculptor, initially working in stone, iron, metal and bronze. Starting in the 1970s, he integrated mechanical components into his sculptures and created the “motor men”.

Later, the series “Big City Neurotics”, “Men of the Air” and “Newspaper Readers” were added. Kurt Laurenz Metzler's sculptures are installed in public and private spaces in Zurich, New York, Los Angeles, Singapore, Siena, Milan, Assisi, Pontedera and Pisa.

In 1989, Kurt Laurenz Metzler purchased an 18th century farmhouse with four hectares of land in Iesa, in the commune of Monticiano, near Siena in Italy. He created the Kurt Laurenz Metzler Park there, which was opened to the public in 1997 and which today extends over more than 70 hectares. Since the late 1980s, Metzler lived and worked between Zurich and Tuscany.