Public Commissions

Commissioned in 1974 for Johannesburg's then newly developed Oriental Plaza, the Peacock Fountain was a 3 m diameter water feature crafted from brass and copper. Its sweeping, stylised plumes mimicked the bird's iridescent fan, with ingeniously crafted water jets cascading from each feather. Engineered to blend aesthetics and hydraulics, it symbolised renewal and beauty in a bustling commercial setting. Though its life was cut short by vandalism, the fountain remains a testament to Lossgott's versatility — transforming industrial materials into ornate public art.

In 2002, Kurt won the competition to create a four-metre bronze sculpture for the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Umtata. Kurt's idea was to show the president with an injured child, facing the hospital — the eye contact between the old man looking protectively down and the young child looking up. Named Madiba after Mandela's Xhosa clan name, the figure stands at the hospital's main entrance.

Installed in 1972 at Johannesburg Zoo after being commissioned by the Mayor (Alec Gorshel), Flying Owl with Child is a welded steel assemblage with a two-metre wingspan. The owl's wings cradle a small child in mid-flight, evoking guardianship and wonder. Constructed from reclaimed machine parts, the work merges industrial detritus with poetic narrative. As an early public commission, it showcases Lossgott's skill in transforming scrap into emotionally resonant art, delighting zoo visitors with its blend of whimsy and scale. It now stands, restored, in the Farmyard at the Johannesburg Zoo.

Commissioned in 1976 for Ladysmith Provincial Hospital, Three Sable Antelopes are one-metre-tall steel sculptures. Simplified yet dynamic, the trio stands at attention, their silhouettes echoing native African wildlife. The welded steel forms emphasise posture and gesture over detail, offering patients and visitors a reminder of nature's resilience. The installation remains in situ as a subtle integration of art and healing environment.

Installed mid-1970s at a chrome-mine site in the Hartebeespoort area — the base reads International Ferro Metals — this 1.6 m bronze buffalo stands as a monument to nature's power amidst industrial enterprise. Its simplified, robust form and textured surface bridge wildlife and machinery; positioned at the site's entrance, the sculpture symbolises strength and endurance.

Cormoran is a horizontal mural work — a large-format wall sculpture combining welded steel with bronze elements.

A ten-metre-high temporary construction at Cresta Shopping Centre, the Enviroserv Christmas Tree stood for seven months in 2009. Built from plastic bottles, broken chairs, bumpers, headlights and eight thousand solar-powered blue LED lights, it closes the late-career arc back to Kurt's earliest welded-metal years — scrap, reused, lit from within.