Debt to my Mother
Gehard Demetz’s masterfully-carved wood sculptures focus exclusively on children. But these children do not represent weakness or a sense of innocence: instead, they are powerful protagonists that look defiantly at the viewers with confrontational gazes. When we first featured Demetz in Hi-Fructose Vol. 22, he discussed the wisdom and experience he believes children carry on from their ancestors through their subconscious, which he brings out through a sense of self-awareness visible in his characters. Demetz has a solo show coming up at Beck & Eggeling in Dusseldorf, Germany where he will debut a new body of lime wood sculptures titled “Der Schnee Kommt Vom Mond,” or “The Snow Comes from the Moon.”
This body of work is perhaps more cinematic than his past series. A sculpture of a boy brandishing an oversized cross as a weapon is coupled with the title Father’s Closet Smells Like Apples. A figure of a boy kneeling on the ground, his arms bound as if for an execution, bears the title Mom’s Hands and Daddy’s Nose. These titles place the works in a narrative — as if we are receiving them as out-of-context film stills — and it is up to the viewers to fill in the gaps. “Der Schnee Kommt Vom Mond” will be on view November 9 through December 21. Take a look at photos courtesy of Egon Dejori of the work below.
Mom’s Nose and Daddy’s Hands
Stones in my Pocket
Echo of a Genuflection
Father’s Closet Smells like Apples
Lift Off
