Ernst Fuchs & Joseph F. Askew:
Sculpture "Tree of Life", bronze version
Ernst Fuchs & Joseph F. Askew:
Sculpture "Tree of Life", bronze version

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ars mundi Exclusive Edition | limited, 299 copies | numbered | signed | edition in bronze | patinated | polished | size 30 x 42 x 11 cm (w/h/d) | weight 7.4 kg

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Sculpture "Tree of Life", bronze version
Ernst Fuchs & Joseph F. Askew: Sculpture "Tree of Life",...

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Sculpture "Tree of Life", bronze version

The "Tree of Life" by Fuchs and Askew

It was a request to Ernst Fuchs that initiated the creation of the "Tree of Life". The purpose of the sculpture was originally to serve as an award for people worldwide who had rendered outstanding services to the preservation of forest areas. When Fuchs finally had created the first drafts, the client withdrew his order. Fuchs decided to complete the artwork anyway and asked Askew for support with the realisation. Because of the many shared ideas that flowed into the sculpture during its execution, the final product was considered a joint work of both artists.

The "Tree of Life" combines ecological ideas with the mythological-fantastic motifs that are so typical of both artists. The archetypal symbol of fertility and fullness of life already appeared in ancient Oriental art and can be found throughout the art history of antiquity. Even in Indian art, it is a frequently appearing motif. As a symbol celebrating life (and in the Christian interpretation since the Middle Ages also: the resurrection), it has fascinated artists of all times - also of the modern age, think of Klimt's famous realisation in the Stoclet Frieze.

Fuchs and Askew remain figuratively concrete in their Tree of Life: a female torso grows out of the trunk as a symbol of the maternal, life-giving, and is surrounded all over by rich foliage.

ars mundi Exclusive Edition in three versions: Version made of fine bronze, cast using the Lost-Wax-Process, patinated in antique green and partially polished. Limited world edition 299 copies, numbered and signed. Size 30 x 42 x 11 cm (w/h/d). Weight 7.4 kg.

About Ernst Fuchs

1930-2015

Ernst Fuchs, born in Vienna in 1930, already presented his works to the public in 1946/47 together with other young artists during his studies at the Vienna Academy. He was one of the co-founders of the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism.

This art movement emerged in Vienna around 1945 and deliberately set itself apart from abstract art. In their works, the artists dealt with French Surrealism, the experiences of New Objectivity and metaphysical painting as well as the fantastic elements of Viennese pre-war art. Ernst Fuchs' work has had a decisive influence on our understanding of 20th-century art.

The motifs are complex allegories depicting human afflictions between life and death. Biblical and mythological representations dominate. The motifs of the Old and New Testaments are deliberately enigmatic and visionary in expression. These riddles are meant to bring knowledge and solution to the viewer as well as to the artist.

His engagement with the heterogeneous art traditions led him to his historicism. He mixed the styles, sometimes in a polemical way. In his first book, "Architectura Caelestis: Images of the Hidden Prime of Styles" first published in 1964, he set out his artistic conception.

The imaginative pictorial inventions, often alienated by surreal elements, evoke something mystical and often erotic. Fuchs' entire oeuvre is repeatedly permeated by biblical motifs. They all culminate in the unique book, the Ernst Fuchs Bible.

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