Duet
The ruby-red house sculptures by Timm Ulrichs stand out in striking contrast to the azure-blue sky. The almost artificial-looking grass-green planting in the roundabout intensifies this effect even further. Many visitors are surprised and fascinated by the scale of the sculpture “Im Duett”, with its two houses appearing to dance together in a close embrace in the middle of the roundabout on Sandstraße.
Its meaning is a matter of perspective
The pictogram of a “simple child’s house”, as artist Timm Ulrichs described it, was one of his first designs of this kind in the 1990s. It was also a tribute to his unfinished architecture studies. Ulrichs, who often incorporated humour and irony into his art and was known for provoking different reactions, also understood “Im Duett” as a playful and ambiguous image.
The two houses are closely intertwined and relate to each other in a dynamic way. Since the sculpture stands on a roundabout, it can be viewed from many different angles. From every side, a new and interesting perspective opens up. This makes the artwork appear to change as visitors move around it.
Like many works by Timm Ulrichs, “Im Duett” combines a clear, memorable form with subtle humour, conceptual ambiguity and a surprising shift in perspective. At the same time, the sculpture playfully reflects its surroundings, especially the nearby residential buildings with their familiar pitched roofs.
Red house sculptures as an eye-catcher in the roundabout
Timm Ulrichs had long been interested in art in public spaces and created works in numerous cities, including Antwerp, Essen, Magdeburg and Munich. With “Im Duett”, he created a unique artwork for the city of Monheim am Rhein that plays humorously with familiar architectural forms.
The massive steel construction was produced in Hanover, with the individual parts welded together on site. The houses, typical pitched-roof buildings, fit well into the surrounding residential area in terms of their basic shape. At the same time, their unusual position on one corner gives the sculpture a dynamic effect, as if the two houses were holding each other in a close dance.
About the artist
The German conceptual artist Timm Ulrichs (*March 31, 1940 in Berlin; † April, 29, 2026 in Berlin) is regarded as one of the defining figures of conceptual art in Germany. He described himself as a “total artist” and worked across many fields, including sculpture, object art, performance, photography, text, concrete poetry, graphic art and art in public spaces.
Characteristic features of his work included subtle humour, linguistic wit and surprising shifts in perspective. As early as 1961, Ulrichs declared himself the “first living work of art”, making his own person, the body and the relationship between art and life central themes of his artistic practice. He participated in documenta 6 in 1977 and was awarded the Käthe Kollwitz Prize by the Akademie der Künste in 2020 for his lifetime achievement.