BALANCING ASYMMETRY: KONRAD KOPPOLD'S SCULPTURAL VESSELS IN WOOD

The combination of technique and form, and the encounter between human design and the essence of nature are key to the ever-expanding creative language of German artist Konrad Koppold. With the upcoming summer season in Tuscany, KALPA is pleased to welcome into its collection this artist’s striking corpus of asymmetric thin-walled vessels in oak wood, combining a clean design with the living structure of trees.

Through the use of differing and innovative techniques, from hollow-turning on multiple axes and carving to sculpting, Koppold transforms large pieces of wood into new possibilities for artistic creations, highlighting the organic qualities of the material. Sourced from a local forest of oak trees in the Rhineland, the artist opts for wood featuring knots, holes, and irregularities, which he either works freely as a sculptor or turns on shifted and inclined axes, giving asymmetry, tension and unexpected motions to the final art objects. The individual artworks created this way enlist the strength and beauty of the grown annual rings of wood, to engage the viewer creatively and emotionally.

Exhibited in the historical interiors of KALPA main venue, an organic composition of medium and large-size objects shows the complexity of both the artist’s design and the wood’s imperfections, nuances and unique qualities. Bringing inside all the charm of the outside natural realm, Koppold's work challenges the viewer’s gaze through the shift in perception that his asymmetric wooden forms evoke, emphasising the aesthetic equilibrium between shape, colour and texture. 

The artist renews the ancient practices of turning and wood carving and re-interprets them according to his new contemporary perspective, adding to his creations aesthetic elements such as smooth texture and metallic inlays. The inception of a shape transcends the limits of the technique, leading the artist to express his spiritual and professional awareness in the containing form.

“Koppold seeks to draw lessons and hybridise knowledge and different techniques in order to create a new language based on asymmetry. The tension generated by the asymmetrical lines leads the object into a universe of combinatory possibilities of form.”

In every work, from the smaller and flat vessels to the more cylindrical and elongated forms, the artist explores differing ways to balance irregularities and asymmetries. The contrast between inside and outside is underlined through the finish of the surfaces, and asymmetry is translated into harmony. Koppold's creative process begins with the conception of a form, often achieved by drawing sketches and making clay models. 

In the finished object, the relation between the finely oiled and sanded inner and the heavily brushed outer surfaces reflects the duality of the vessel itself, intended as a metaphysical device that carries the human soul. From an aesthetic perspective, embracing a clear combination of opposites, the artist navigates in the terrain of softness and rigidity, lightness and heaviness. He plays with the colouring properties of tannic acid, natural to oak, iron, natural pigments, chalk and soap to obtain variability of his ebonized vessels. The final texture accentuates the organic surface’s features even further, revealing the wood’s grain structure with a deliberate haptic effect.

“The simple, clear forms reflect the special character of the chosen woods. Distortions and fissures, the results of natural shrinkage, are incorporated in the artistic design and make up the works' special charm.”

“By exploring the natural irregularities of wood, Koppold combines his interest and approach to design theoretical thinking and ancient practices of craftsmanship.”

Following a carpentry apprenticeship and experience as a cabinet maker, Konrad Koppold (Bavaria, 1967) graduated from the Technical College for Design in Augsburg and then studied Interior Design in Rosenheim. After several years of professional work as an interior designer, since 2006 Koppold has worked as an independent artist. In recent years, he has gained much attention for his innovative approach, fearless experiments and clear design language. He has exhibited at Kunst Schaffen, Robbe & Berking Museum Flensburg, Germany (2023); Zeughausmesse, Berlin, Germany (2022); MK&G Messe, Kunst-und Gewerbemuseum, Hamburg, Germany (2022); Fine Arts, Stadthalle Wuppertal, Germany (2021); and Grassi Messe, Leipzig, Germany (2021). He was also recently a finalist at the Cheongju Craft Biennale, Cheongju, South Korea in 2023 and the Loewe Craft Prize in 2022. He is now a recommended artist by Homo Faber Guide, and his work is part of Dortmund’s Museum of Art and Cultural History in Dortmund.

“The hand does not create, but brings out the characteristics and lines already present in the wood through the process of turning, sculpting and drying, giving it a new identity and revealing the intimate potential of the material.”

Photography of the artworks: Olga Niescier for KALPA

Photography of the studio and creative process: courtesy of the Artist

Quotes by Konrad Koppold and Rainer Danne

KALPA INSTAGRAM