LOTHAR HOFMANN
​Wood, glass, light ... and a few paintings

My artistic activity began more than 40 years ago with watercolor and later acrylic painting, so that I could experiment with the possibilities of colors. In addition, I made some small-format drypoint etchings that were printed with the help of a roller printing press. In the mid-90s, stone sculptures followed, which I made as part of sculpture courses. Since then I have been fascinated by the interplay of different materials, which led to the first wood-glass sculptures from 2005 onwards. I combine the natural material wood with the artificial, industrially produced material glass. Wood contains an internal structure that has often grown over decades, which is connected with clear, simple glass elements. On the one hand, this makes the natural structures of the wood clearly (more) visible, but also puts them in a completely new context. This becomes particularly clear when light is added as an element directly related to glass. The arrangement of the glass in interaction with the incidence of light, reflections and sometimes with LED lighting enables a constant new view of "natural wood" and its structure - a view that depends on the viewer and the specific situation.

In my works I almost exclusively use untreated and sometimes completely fresh wood. Since wood works depending on temperature and humidity, changes to the sculptures can occur in the short or long term. Depending on the construction, these changes can also cause the glass to break. If one of my works is set up outdoors and is therefore exposed to wind and weather, the wood darkens in a short time. In addition, water can penetrate the joints between wood and glass and lead to permanent, quite interesting changes. This is part of my concept.

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Lothar Hofmann