Wood sculptor · Berlin
Figures from a single trunk
Human and animal, carved with a chainsaw and painted.
They are mythical creatures and characters at once, whose names reveal themselves to the artist once the work is complete.
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Stefan Seitz shows figures carved with a chainsaw, each from a single trunk. The subject of his work — human and animal — is rooted in his own closeness to nature. The figures are hybrid in character. They are creatures of fable and characters at once, whose names reveal themselves to the artist once the work is complete.
Stefan Seitz lets his own experiences and memories flow into the works, which he prepares through sketches. The pieces are always painted; the colour accentuates the appearance of the figures and defines their individual presence.
Anatomical accuracy recedes into the background. It is rather the oversized limbs and shifted proportions that lend the figures their expressive force, as does the roughness of the surface that the technique brings with it. Working quickly with the saw leaves room for spontaneous responses to the material, which makes the sculptures seem light, almost cheerful.
The sculptor explores his subject in endless variations. Although conceived as individual objects, the figures can relate to one another. They hold the beginnings of their own narratives, which often arise from the humorously drawn contrast between the static plinth and the impulse to move that lies within.
Dr Maria Lucia Weigel, art historian · DieKunstReihe, Volksbank Karlsruhe
On the work
One trunk, one figure
Every figure comes from a single trunk. Whatever does not belong to the form falls away with the saw. There is no undoing it.
The figures carry personal names, even when their nature is hybrid — Franz, Susi, Rolf. Anatomical accuracy steps back; oversized limbs and shifted proportions define their presence, as does the rough surface left by the tool.
It begins with a drawing. It ends with the colour that gives the figure its presence.
Acquisition
Every work is unique
Directly from the artist
Sculptures and works on paper are available directly from the studio — without a gallery mark-up.
See it before you buy
Large figures want to be seen in a room. A visit to the studio in Berlin can be arranged.