Artists

Peter Kradolfer (he/they) explores connections between social and ecological structures, material and the human body in his practice. In Oaktown, he exposes an oak parquet floor to an interplay of light, metal, water and weather over several weeks. The tannic acid in the wood reacts with found metal objects, leaving dark traces – creating an image that Peter initiates but can only partially control. In the sculpture series Neornamente, he takes this process further. Metal grilles that once separated inside from outside are dismantled and reassembled into new, open structures. Between the organic and the industrial, control and material agency, spaces emerge in which seemingly clear boundaries become permeable.

How does your relationship to the work change when you know that you are not solely responsible for its final form?
I see creative processes as already existing relationships that artists can engage with and develop further. I find it both liberating and challenging to attribute agency to the things I work with. For me, this means questioning learned ideas of achievement and the final product, and placing more significance and trust in the process itself.

What role does the human body play in your work?
For me, the question of how our bodies function is a major source of inspiration. We are circulating systems, functioning within other circulating systems. Through art, I want to make the connections between the body and the world tangible, in order to better understand what we are and what there is to be done.