Sculpture "Reading Woman", bronze
Sculpture "Reading Woman", bronze
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ars mundi Exclusive Edition | limited, total 54 copies | offered here: 5 E.A. copies | numbered | signed | certificate | bronze | patinated | size 20 x 17 x 23.5 cm (h/w/d) | weight 3.3 kg
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Detailed description
Sculpture "Reading Woman", bronze
The fascination of reading: "Reading almost as much as breathing, is our essential function", says Alberto Manguel in his extensive book "A History of Reading", which deals with the subject from a cultural-historical perspective. And it is, adds cognitive scientist Stanislas Dehaene in his book on the highly complex neurological prerequisites of reading, "the greatest invention of mankind". Both fill more than 400 printed pages each, with these immediately comprehensible theses.
But for the sculptor, Valerie Otte, born in 1977 and studied in London and Berlin, a bronze cast is enough to impressively set the fascination for books and reading packed into so many words into a picture. Her reader is highly concentrated and relaxed - she sinks into her reading and forgets everything around her.
Edition in bronze. Cast using the Lost-Wax-Process and patinated by hand. Limited edition 49 copies + five E.A. copies Roman numbered (offered here) and signed. With certificate. Size 20 x 17 x 23.5 cm (h/w/d). Weight 3.3 kg. ars mundi Exclusive Edition.
Producer: ars mundi Edition Max Büchner GmbH, Bödekerstraße 13, 30161 Hanover, Germany, [email protected]
About Valerie Otte
Insight into the human soul
Otte's art can be described as a play of the eyes at distance, which is a classical description for figurative sculpture. The rule: Close observation. In her works, the artist translates everything that she saw in the world as a quiet emotion, a small gesture or a moment of truthfulness. The viewer then "reads" these traces cast in bronze and soon no longer sees mere sculptures but personalities. It is a game that educates - not only for art but also for the world.
Valerie Otte (born in 1977) studied sculpture and art history in London and Berlin. She followed up with a diploma in product design in Potsdam – this path describes perfectly the approach and versatility of her work.
Otte's work as a sculptor in her Berlin studio is primarily figurative. Her bronze figures are rarely actually portraits (although she has made and continues to make some portraits from models). They are sensitive character studies of great emotional and psychological depth, which allow the viewer an insight into their inner lives without exaggerated "posing", simply through quiet suggestion and barely perceptible gesture. In the process, Otte's figures usually rest within themselves so that the viewer almost believes witnessing an intimate moment.
An alloy of copper with other metals (especially with tin) used since ancient times. It is an ideal metal for high-quality artistic castings, capable of enduring for millennia.
When casting bronze, the artist usually applies the lost-wax technique which is dating back more than 5000 years. This is the best, but also the most complex method of producing sculptures.
First, the artist forms a model of their work. This model is embedded in a liquid silicone rubber mass. Once the material has solidified, the model is cut out, leaving a negative mould. Liquid wax is then poured into the negative mould. After cooling down, the wax cast is removed from the mould, provided with sprues and dipped into ceramic mass. The ceramic mass is hardened in a kiln, where the wax melts away (lost mould).
Finally, the negative mould is ready, into which the 1400° C hot molten bronze is poured. After the bronze had cooled down, the ceramic shell is broken apart, reavoling the sculpture.
Next, the sprues are removed, the surfaces are polished, patinated and numbered by the artist or by a specialist, following their instructions. Thus, each casting is an original work.
For lower-quality bronze castings, the sand casting method is often used, which, however, does not achieve the results of a more elaborate lost-wax technique in terms of surface characteristics and quality.
Graphic or sculpture edition that was initiated by ars mundi and is available only at ars mundi or at distribution partners licensed by ars mundi.
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Term for an art object (sculpture, installation) that, according to the artist’s intention, is produced in multiple copies within a limited and numbered edition.
Multiples enable the "democratization" of art by making the work accessible and affordable for a wider audience.
A plastic work of sculptural art made of wood, stone, ivory, bronze or other metals.
While sculptures made of wood, ivory, or stone are carved directly from the material block, in bronze casting, a working model is prepared at first. Usually, it is made of clay or other easily mouldable materials.
The prime time of sculpture after the Greek and Roman antiquity was the Renaissance. Impressionism gave a new impulse to the sculptural arts. Contemporary artists such as Jorg Immendorf, Andora, and Markus Lupertz also enriched sculptures with outstanding works.