Sculpture No. 714 by Robert Klippel
Story compiled from research by Lisa Conolly
Figure 1: Sculpture No. 714, by Robert Klippel. Installed 1990
This sculpture stands in the forecourt of the Intercontinental hotel on North Terrace, Adelaide, adjacent to the Adelaide central railway station.
There are three other large sculptures in this area – all installed around the same time in the late 1980’s or early 1990’s. The sculptures were commissioned by the Adelaide Station and Environs Redevelopment (ASER) Property Trust, with assistance from a state Government Public Art program. At the time Mr Robert Steele ran an art gallery in the space within the lower forecourt area, and it is likely that he was involved in the selection of the sculptures, as recalled by the lead architect Mr Gavan Ranger.
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FIgure 3: Wooden Prototype for Adelaide Plaza bronze, 1988, Wood assemblage, NSW Art Gallery collection.
The Klippel sculpture was cast from a prototype sculpture that utilised discarded wooden patterns for machine parts discovered in an industrial foundry in Ultimo, Sydney. In a NSW Art Gallery exhibition catalogue from 1995, Deborah Edwards described the Adelaide sculpture as “a masterwork” from this series of “large wood sculptures”. This was the last major series of works by Klippel before he died in 2001.
Figure 4. Robert Klippel, 1979. Photo by David Moore
Robert Klippel was regarded as a leading Australian sculptor in his lifetime. He was pioneering in his use of the method of assembly to make something new from discarded parts and found objects, usually mechanical objects. This was often referred to as "junk" sculpture, but his process was organic and he created semi-organic forms. According to Ken Scarlett "the whole work grows as naturally as a plant, yet it is entirely constructed of discarded machine parts."
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References
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EDWARDS, Deborah, 'Robert Klippel: Large Wood Sculptures and Collages', in Avenel Mitchell (ed.), Robert Klippel: Large Wood Sculptures and Collages (Sydney: Art Gallery of New South Wales, 1995). Exhibition Catalogue, pages 23-24.
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EDWARDS, Deborah, (2002), 'Robert Klippel: Make It New', Art and Australia, 40 (1), 78-85.
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MOSLER, Sharon (2011), Heritage Politics in Adelaide (Adelaide: University of Adelaide Press).
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QUEALE, Michael (1996), Adelaide’s Architecture and Art, A Walking Guide.
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SCARLETT, Ken (2004), 'Robert Klippel: Australia’s Greatest Sculptor', Sculpture: A Publication of the International Sculpture Centre, April.
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Figures
Figure 1. Sculpture No. 714, by Robert Klippel. Photograph by Lisa Conolly. May 2025
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Figure 2. View of the Intercontinental Hotel forecourt area, North Terrace, with Sculpture No. 714, by Robert Klippel. Photograph by Lisa Conolly. May 2025
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Figure 3. Wooden Prototype for Adelaide Plaza bronze, 1988, Wood assemblage, 300.0 x 350.0 x 135.0 cm, NSW Art Gallery collection.
https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/57.1989/
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Figure 4. Robert Klippel, 1979 by David Moore, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned (56.0 x 51.0 cm), courtesy National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, Australia.
https://www.portrait.gov.au/portraits/1998.16/robert-klippel
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