Even as a child, Stefan Rohrer was fascinated by cars and scooters; later, when he was studying art, he turned motor vehicles into his raw material. He is particularly drawn to scooters – their sleek curves, shiny surfaces and snazzy details provide him with everything he needs to translate dynamic movement into sculpture.

In his works, he captures speed by ‘freezing’ motion in metal. Bits of bodywork are stretched and shaped into loops, ribbons and spirals – as if the scooter had been arrested at the moment of maximum speed. The Vespa appears to be exploding in a single, flamboyantly over-the-top move, while simultaneously re-assembling itself into an elegant red arc.

Rohrer’s sculptures recall comics and Pop Art: they exaggerate and make speed visible. At the same time, they pick up on Futurism – with a tongue-in-cheek nod to today’s consumer culture. Thus, the Vespa becomes a symbol of the thrill, fun and beauty of speed, but also of its danger.