Ash Vessel by Jörg Pietschmann, 1578

Ash vessel 1578 by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 46 x W 67 x H 25 cm Materials: ash. Finish: polished oil finish. In Pietschmann’s sculptures, trees that for centuries were part of a landscape and founded in primordial forces tell stories inscribed in the memory of their fibers. The forms Jörg Pietschmann pares from ancient trees are extensive and astonishing with their physical presence, a combination of elegance and primeval nature. Pietschmann’s sculptures are monuments to the trees from which they derive. Being endowed with the ruggedness of primeval matter gives them a veritable vitality: figures that appear to have grown into the sculptural form of their own accord. But Pietschmann’s tangibly present bodies have undergone a considerable degree of metamorphosis. In order to generate these unique tree specimens, he examines the tree’s morphology and intrinsic inner map until the courses of its grain, of a curve, knots, and cracks concur with his projections. The exploratory process is accompanied by constant modification, giving at the start of each new piece no more than an intimation of the figure that will later emerge. In their completion, Pietschmann’s sculptures once more become a universal form.