“Big Mama” in bronze – burgenland.ORF.at

For gallery owner Astrid Zenel, it was love at first sight when she saw Geolex's marble sculpture. She bought it and put “Big Mama” in her garden. Now the artist and gallery owner have decided to turn the statue into bronze. Geolex visited her last summer and expressed her desire to cast “Big Mama” in bronze and of course she had nothing against that.

Mikic: Great respect

The foundry workshop of Slavko Mikić in Hof am Leithagebirge (Brück an der Leithage district) received the order. Mikić had already worked for Alfred Hrdlicka, Franz Geulx's teacher. The user explained that the day the bronze was poured into the clay mold was the hardest day of the entire process. You must have great respect for the bronze tempera. For example, if the mold is not pressed properly, the liquid bronze may flow out, and then several days of prep work will be wasted.

But the clay shell remained tight and the casting was successful. After the bronze cooled, the clay shell broke off and the bronze parts emerged. Finally, days later, the bronze twins of “Big Mama” were joined together.

Great emotional significance

For the artist, sculpture has great emotional meaning. His last work was at the Polytechnic University in 1994, and his partner was pregnant with his daughter. “A pregnant woman was a very exciting thing,” Geolicks said. He had to implement it technically.