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Anselm Baumann
Born in 1958 in Freiburg, lives in Frankfurt am Main
Oyster, 2025
Size including box approx. 40 x 25 x 10 cm
Porcelain, glaze, and mother-of-pearl luster
Edition: 12 + 3 AP, signed on wooden box
€980 incl. 7% VAT
Anselm Baumann is interested in surfaces, structures, and experimenting with different materials and colors. Concrete, plaster, ceramics, porcelain, plastic, and pigments are the materials that particularly fascinate him, and whose properties guide him. From these, he creates wall-filling, abstract reliefs that one practically has to walk towards, or large-format sculptures, for example, in the form of barrel-like vases with unusual floral bouquets. A wave-like structure runs like a common thread through many of these works. The pattern that fills the surface and connects everything comes from corrugated cardboard, such as that used to protect wine bottles. Everyday objects often provide the impetus for his formative inventions. In his most recent group of works, including those in our edition, however, it is oysters and their two “faces” that challenge him. Outwardly, the oyster is inconspicuous, dark, and encrusted, but inside it has a precious, mother-of-pearl luster. It represents culinary luxury and, at the same time, has a newly discovered ecological role. For centuries, it has been considered a delicacy, a symbol of pleasure, abundance, and social prestige. Yet it is not only a food source; it purifies the water, creates reef structures for new habitats, and is being rediscovered by scientists around the world as the architect of healthy oceans. Anselm Baumann’s oversized versions made of porcelain, glaze, and mother-of-pearl luster are a true homage to this remarkable, magnificent shell.
