THE POWERFUL MYSTIQUE OF WOOD: KONRAD KOPPOLD'S SCULPTURAL VESSELS

Asymmetry and duality in sculpture are the core elements of Konrad Koppold's art vision. Presenting objects that achieve a beautiful balance of form, colour, and texture, his thin-walled oak vessels reveal the inherent qualities of the wood and witness the artist's experimental approach to the ancient practices of woodturning and carving.

Currently exhibited at the Molteni&C New York flagship store as part of the KALPA-curated art integration project for this venue, a selection of his vessels perfectly complements the understated elegance of Molteni's designed interiors.

"Koppold's creations resemble quiet human-nature dialogues. Each of his objects reflects a subtle balance of a clear formal language and the lively character of the wood."

Across the elegant and luminous living areas of the store, Koppold's sculptural vessels communicate ideas and emotions, engaging visitors through their material and conceptual qualities. The commercial space becomes a cultural experience, in effect an art gallery, creating a layered space of interaction between the objects and the viewers.

Expressions of the artist’s impeccable high craftsmanship and creative awareness, they are austere, solitary totems, serving as powerful sources of energy. The artist's creative process originates from the inception of a form, often conceived through the use of drawings and clay models. Thus, turning on shifted and inclined axes, he gives tension and unexpected motions to his pieces, and challenges both their function and viewers’ perception.

“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.”

Wood is a dynamic material that offers sculptors limitless creative potential, adapting to the language of contemporary art while retaining its natural and ancient essence. The distinct grain and texture ensure the uniqueness of each piece, making each artwork an organic element breathing life into the space.

Koppold’s vessels enlist the strength and beauty of the annual rings of the oak trees locally sourced in the Rhineland, enhancing authentic knots, holes, and irregularities. 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, along with using iron, natural pigments, chalk, and soap to obtain variability in his ebonized vessels.

Intended as metaphysical devices that symbolise the human soul, the vessels engage with the viewer creatively and emotionally. This concept is visually communicated through the physical duality of the work’s structure, and the relation between the inner texture, which is finely sanded and oiled, and the outer surface, which offers a more brushed feeling.

By integrating Koppold’s work in the context of Molteni&C New York underlines the significance of creating a more personal, creative, and vibrant living landscape in the world of design today. Thanks to the presence of these fine art objects, the interiors are enriched and transformed, inviting visitors to form a lively connection with them and consequently to reimagine their daily space.

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.

Finalist of both international prestigious Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, Seoul in 2022 and Cheongju Craft Biennale, South Korea in 2023, Koppold presented his work in multiple exhibitions. Recent collective shows are the German Craft Collection, Hannover (2025), Resonances Salon, Strasburg (2025), Révelations International Fine Craft Biennal in Paris (2025), Grassi Museum, Leipzig (2025 and 2021), Kunst Schaffen, Robbe & Berking Museum Flensburg (2023); Zeughausmesse, Berlin (2022); MK&G Messe, Kunst-und Gewerbemuseum, Hamburg (2024 and 2022); and Fine Arts, Stadthalle Wuppertal (2021). Recommended artist by Homo Faber Guide, his work is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Art and Cultural History in Dortmund.

C R E D I T S :

Photography of Konrad Koppold's studio and creative process: Courtesy of the Artist

Photography of Konrad Koppold's artworks at Molteni&C: Daniel Civetta @danielcivetta for KALPA

Quotes: from Konrad Koppold, Curators' Choice section, Art Aurea Magazine; and Rainer Donne, curator of the Municipal Gallery Iserlohn

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