In 197 x 17 x 13, Balka puts in interplay, an old wooden element, with his sculpture of a small scull.
As often in his works, the artist uses his bodies’ measurements in order to place the elements in relation to himself and the space. This approach, typical for Balka’s works, comes from his inherite belief in the necessity of understanding remembrance and memory itself and humanizing the work. Realizing the importance behind sculptures relative to monuments and memorials, embracing fear and crossing thresholds, approaching an infinite search; whether it is to escape, or find the missing pieces in order to reach an understanding that of history, death, beauty and humanity.
This historic piece from 1990 represents a turning point in Balka’s career, when the artist started turning away from almost classical, figurative sculpture, and started his path to mastery of reduction of form, which today he is best known for.
It is a unique occasion, when the viewer is brought into a position not only of of experiencing the piece itself, but also witnessing the process of reducing beings to their bare minimum, allowing their true essence to be seen without any disruptions, the idea which informs works of artists such as Rothko, Michael Gross and Giacometti.

By retrieving the objects from their immediate or obvious surroundings the artist makes visible the tension within the interpretation of Duchamp’s legacy: the solidity of the ready-made juxtaposed against the potency of the created object in contact with artists’ body. Balka transforms objects into handmade sculptures.
197 x 17 x 13 , 1990, as often Balka’s works, is informed by the syntax established by minimalism and Arte Povera, however, his legacy is compilated by the works’ gestural character and symbolic lexicography, the sense of human presence, both with it its’ measurements and in the skull element. It is in contact with the viewer when they speak most fully of their carnal roots.
Ever since Balka’s appearance in the international art scene his works have not only been prominently featured in prestigious exhibitions and collections, but they have been subjects of critiques, polemics, arguments and dialogues generated by a range of critics, curators, artists, art historians and philosophers. In the constellation of references associated with his work, giants of European literary Modernism like Beckett, Joyce and Celan appear frequently. They position Balka as a messenger- angel, weeping at the borders of a ravaged continent desperately trying to wring coherence from the anguish and absurdity of the universe.

Balka uses height, gravity, distance, and continuous space in order to approach the necessity of understanding remembrance and memory itself. He brings the viewer in to a position of experience and absorption and as less of an observer and more of a witness. Realizing the importance behind sculptures relative to monuments and memorials, embracing fear and crossing thresholds, approaching an infinite search; whether it is to escape, or find the missing pieces/letters in order to reach an understanding. Balka creates a space where it is pertinent to acknowledge what it means to remember.