Kunstkatalog Stefanie Brehm

11 avoiding perfect geometric circles. The leitmotif of circular forms in her works perhaps reflects her love of dancing, a passion she lived out to the full during her student days. If we follow this chain of associa- tions, then all matter, bodies and even thoughts are simply waves: low or high-frequency, they ripple out in space in a circular movement, connecting and communicating as they go. The artist regards circles as movement, but they also stand for expansion and symbolise constancy and order. Structurally, the cylinder is very well suited for large ceramic sculptures. Yet this is not why Stefanie Brehm mainly works with this form. She is aiming for an in- herently quiet, unprepossessing sculpture that is lent maximum impact by the painting. The surfaces of the cylinder have an air of endlessness, with many diffe- rent facets. Walking around it, the sculpture always retains the same silhouette. For Stefanie Brehm, the column is a symbol of endu- ring, unassuming being. The form creates a connecti- on between the earthly and cosmic. The air columns in our bodies, when we breathe in deeply, correspond to it, as do our spinal columns. The dimensions of the large columns are human size. Stefanie Brehm uses the body height and shoulder span of adults and children as a reference for creating her columns. Po- sitioned in a room, they relate to one another. Depen- ding on the spatial situation, they stand alone or are grouped together. The curved top is also significant in the artist‘s eye; it is permanently fixed to the cylinder. Slightly convex in shape, it increases the column‘s height and makes it look lighter. The glaze application enhances this air of lightness. Stefanie Brehm does not regard it as a sealing element, but as a receiver dome that picks up things from its lofty height and transmits them into the column walls. The sprayed colours on the tops reinforce this intention. Not all observers are tall enough to be able to look down on the works at 180 cm and higher. Echoing the curved tops of the columns, the artist was therefore inspired to make convex discs with a larger diameter of 70 cm, which can be exhibited hanging from the wall or lying on the ground. Her artist-in-residency at the European Ceramic Work Centre of Oisterwijk in the Netherlands in 2018 enabled the artist to produce large ceramic works for outdoors, which she had long wished to do. Risks were largely minimised through a special formula for the clay, high-fire glazes and very slow firing processes. She succeeded in firing the columns at 1240 degrees Celsius without damaging them. Sintering the clay at high temperatures stops it from absorbing water, ensuring frost resistance in the winter. Success hinges on craftsmanship and in modern ceramics especially, art and craftsmanship are “inseparable siblings”, or as Stefanie Brehm says: “The two go hand in hand and are kindred spirits.” For as she adds, creating a ma- terial object springs first from an idea in the artist’s mind, which is then realised by dint of craftsmanship. Whether the artist or someone else does the crafting is immaterial. She values the crafting work, because she knows exactly what has to be done, performing the same work processes for days or weeks on end to produce a work. Practising a craft fosters continuity and concentration, and the manual skill is joined by creative ability. She focuses on her sense of right- ness. At what point do the colours and form develop a relationship in which the figure as a whole achieves a balance? When this balance is struck, the figure is most akin to what the artist is feeling at the time. Groundwork For Stefanie Brehm, painting has always existed as an independent field of art within her creative work. Every artistic consideration and experience with co- lour is filed away: this store of experience is radiated on to all the pictorial fields she engages with. Like all artists, she makes roughs and sketches. Initially, all the smaller cylinders are used as test pieces to try out various glazing ideas. Yet they are also works in their own right. They are not roughs for the large columns, nor mock-ups, but inspire new ideas and discoveries. They are very practical, valuable even, because little or no dialogue is needed in their making. Everything is immediately allowed. When she stands in front of the large columns, she first has to overcome her trepi- dation and muster trust in her impulses and sponta- neity. “Once I’ve coped with that, things get going...,” she finishes. Expanding material with polyurethane Polyurethanes take their place beside the ceramics. They are a “fluid game”, an expression the artist likes. All her colours are applied in a playful approach, also in her ceramic works. When playing with colours,