Precious Beasts by Lothar Böttcher opens this Sunday, 20th March 2022 at 11:30am at Ebony/Curated Franschhoek.
“Precious Beasts is an ongoing series of carved idols, loosely related to prehistoric representations of animals and magical creatures of fantasy.
These sculptures offer me the means to meditate on process, to find ways of translating a visual vernacular of familiar shapes and recognisable forms, linking our distant past to an imaginative contemporary narrative.
Although these objects are reminiscent of stone-age idols, they have become a personal quest to test new ideas and push my limits. I am tempted to say that this process is akin to ritual, in reference to the spirit of man as maker. I’m not connoting a specific animal from the outset (to the blank block of optical crystal), but rather let the combination of shapes and process guide me to eventually reveal something familiar.
I have likened the process of carving these sculptural beasts to drawing within space, where my stone wheels are the proverbial charcoal and ochre and my studio the cave. It’s surprising how enormous this palette of shapes and textures can become…
For me the spirituality of these works lies not in the finished sculpture, but much more in finding the path to reveal that which hides within.
My process starts by splitting a large block into a manageable size whereafter several drawings are made, searching for a desired shape, texture and rough “identity”. I don’t have a preconceived animal in mind and rather let the notion of exploring uncharted territory lead the way. Ironically, this sense of exploration is integral to my method of sculpting these precious beasts, which often results into new twists and turns during the process of making. It is this unpredictability which excites me! The corpus and capital differ in texture, cuts and finish. This is intentional and relates to our inner light, radiating from the eyes… Each figure speaks its own “language”, with hints of an ancient yet familiar poem trickling through in some prehistoric dialect.
Precious Beasts are a quest to align craftsmanship and skills as quintessential to create something new from nothing. I want to ignite the flame of curiosity and imagination through my explorations, searching for that ancient magic which makes us human.” – Lothar Böttcher, March 2022
The exhibition coincides with the KYKNET Silwerskermfees which takes place in Camps Bay and for which Lothar has made a series of works as trophies/prizes.
The exhibition can be viewed in person and on Artsy.
A digital catalogue is available on request.
WHAT: Precious Beasts by Lothar Böttcher
WHERE: Ebony/Curated, Franschhoek Square, 32 Huguenot Street, Franschhoek.
WHEN: Opens Sunday, 20th March 2022 at 11:30am | until 30th April 2022
INFO: T 27 (0)21 876 4477 | E info@ebonycurated.com | Visit
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