Schmidlin Stephan

The sculptures of the internationally renowned wood sculptor Stephan Schmidlin (* 1963) always manage to bring a smile to the audience's face. With loving irony, Schmidlin's works reflect on people, their everyday lives and the society in which we live. So it is hard to ignore the overpowering charm of the corpulent bathing mermaid, who towers around 6 metres above our heads and seems to be both cheerful and courageous as she jumps into the cool water.  We would also like to travel with the tram and its passengers and share our day and our experiences with them. A powerful wooden hand seems to lift us up into the sky, allowing us to experience the unrestricted freedom of existence for a brief moment.

While Stephan Schmidlin's sculptures appear mostly playful at first glance, it is precisely this skilful and superficially harmless game that leads us to the more serious questions of man and his society. How do we deal with common ideals of beauty? Who is our neighbour on the tram? What worries trouble him? How can we live freely and carefree? How do we deal with our natural resources? Schmidlin's sculptures show us how to enjoy the moment and at the same time reflect on ourselves, the world and society in a light-hearted way.

Quote

«I don't have dreams that I want to realise, but goals that I want to achieve. I have realised a whole series of them. Others will follow...»