Coral Springs Museum of Art

“Striding“ was an on-site carving project conceived by Lothar in conjunction with his first exhibit at the Coral Springs Museum of Art in 2001. A 3000 pound block of marble plus the base were shipped directly from Italy to the front lawn of the museum. He utilized a plaster model and a panthograph to arrive at the approximate contours, using a large angle grinder and steel wedges to remove large chunks of material. The noise and dust were considerable which helped keep a secure distance between the source of destruction and the audience! After the first week visitors of all ages were attracted and he happily answered all of their questions.

The project was so successful that he was invited to return the next year to execute the Himalama. Here the remarks from our friend and fellow artist Bob Bagley:
To Capture the Process
There are two things I discovered watching Lothar work that seem to stand out in this man-the sculptor. One is his ability to visualize and extract such unique forms from the world around him- to merge that which he sees with that which he imagines. And then be able to find and shave this shape out of rock. The second is his incredible love for the process. One can not create great works in stone- or any other medium for that matter, out of mere love for the result. One must love the process. For the sculptor is a stone carver first and last and only does success, with his ability to transform that inner image to the real world, make him a creator of sculpture.

Here an excerpt from the documentation for Grounds For Peace, his third project in Coral Springs
The intention of this project was to make a decisive statement for Peace.
Five sculptors from 5 continents were to choose a stone, a piece of their earth, and bring it to Coral Springs and make it a focal point. A symposium is a meeting together to share diverse ideas, to collaborate and create. In the case of this International Sculpture Symposium, the exchange is hands on and hard work.
In fact, in this January of 2006, 3 sculptors have come, Lothar Nickel from Germany,
Armen Agop from Egypt, and Roy Patterson from Maine. Lothar’s stone is pink Portuguese marble, Armen’s is black granite from Zimbabwe, and Roy’s is a pinkish gray granite from Deer Isle, Maine. In many cultures, an exchange of the earth of their country is the greatest symbol of veneration. And not unlike the 3 Kings, these 3 very different men are carrying a symbol of Peace to this place.
Art is the medium towards this goal.
And the road there is backbreaking, dusty, noisy, fulfilling and urgent.
The finished pieces will build the foundation for the newly established Peace Garden at the Coral Springs Museum of Art.