ANDREAS SCHMITTEN
SCULPTURE PARK WALDFRIEDEN
SCULPTURE PARK WALDFRIEDEN, WUPPERTAL, GERMANY26 MAY 2022 – 1 JANUARY 2023
Anthropomorphism and material impersonation are of interest to Andreas Schmitten, whose recent sculpture invites a contemporary re-consideration of Duchamp’s ready-made. pulling considerations into dialogue with the present, while also conducting an enigmatic exploration of the relationships between sculptural and human form, as well as the body, symbolic objects, and rituals.
There are eleven works on display at Waldfrieden, within the gallery, park, and villa. GEBURT (Birth), 2021; DIE ANDERE, 2021; INMATERIELLES, 2021: and GEBURT (RECLINING), 2021, all take the vessel, font,or basin as their primary forms, merging them with parts of the human body. Although they at first sight appear like porcelain, all are made out of bronze that has then been spray painted white. The surfaces of these cast sculptures have been painstakingly ground, painted, and waxed to achieve their look. Bronze casts bring a formal integrity, sharpness, and durability that his earlier experiments with ceramic and polyester resin were at pains to deliver. Discussing the work recently, Schmitten expained: "Every inch of the surface is given great attention", adding that "most of my work deliberately does not show its material. There is no `truth to material´ here."
These sculptures are also carefully conceived, in addition to being meticulously made. The level of control and precision is a central characteristic of his art more generally. Schmitten is a thinker as well as a maker: an artist with a combined academic and fine art background that includes philosophy (he studied at the Heinrich Heine University for five years, where he became fascinated by the writings of Gilles Deleuze) and art (he attended the Düsseldorf Academy for six years). Schmitten was also a highly gifted model maker as a child, and briefly made a living from such work prior to his artistic pursuits.
© Skulpturenpark Waldfrieden
© Images Michael Richter
