Roman Signer (born 1938) works with water, fire, air, and earth - elements that, in the artist's words, "intervene in the formation of the work and complete it". Active since the late 1960s, Signer has won international art world admiration and the reputation of being an "artist's artist". Yet his finely tuned, deceptively simple "time sculptures" have simultaneously reached an unusually wide audience: Children as well as philosophers, art experts and laymen, art lovers and sceptics alike are equally fascinated by his art's unique combination of visual beauty, poetry, humour, and profound conceptual significance. Rachel Withers analyses Roman Signer's time sculptures from various perspectives. Using ideas drawn from Bergson, Bachelard and other theorists, she examines various key questions posed by the philosophy of time, and tests their consequences for our understanding of Signer's works. She links time sculptures to the reconceptualisation of time in art in the later 20th century, and relates Signer's fascination with the environment to current ecological debates regarding time and nature. Lastly, she looks at Signer's humour and its deep significance in his works.

This survey of Signers career features 150 illustrations and essays relating to his ideas about time, humour and the environment.