Sitzendes Paar

Sitzendes Paar is a bronze sculpture by Lothar Fischer in Färbergässchen, Augsburg. It stands beside a small square in front of a recessed building. Two seated figures form the central scene, with elongated bodies that reflect Fischer’s focus on the human form. The wheelchair-accessible setting places the work directly within everyday urban life.

Lothar Fischer created the piece around 1983 to 1984, during the redesign of Färbergässchen. Fischer co-founded the Munich artist group Spur in 1957 with Heimrad Prem, Helmut Sturm and Hans Peter Zimmer. The bronze originally belonged to a fountain ensemble above a basin. Maintenance problems and repeated littering later ended the fountain’s operation. The work remained in place as its ownership passed from the Kreissparkasse to a local family.

People have sometimes used the seated forms to leave objects or rubbish, giving the public artwork an unusually practical history. Augsburg also contains other works by Fischer, including a seated couple at the university and a large seated shell at the Hessing Clinic in Göggingen. Here, the lasting detail is simple: two bronze figures continue to sit where a fountain once ran.