Michael Schwarze (*1939), Tooth-Tooth, 1968
Michael Schwarze(*1939 Krefeld), Tooth-Tooth , 1968, gold-colored patinated bronze on cast plinth, 69 cm (height) x 40 cm (width) x 20 cm (width), weight 30 kg. Monogrammed “MS” on the plinth and identified as copy number 3/3.
- In excellent condition with intentionally irregular patina.
- The Reality of Artistic Fantasy -
This bronze dates from Michael Schwarze's early Berlin period and is a key work for his further artistic oeuvre. Schwarze takes up the tradition of hybrid creatures. However, the chimeras of mythology, such as the sphinx or the centaur, usually combine an animal body with a human head. Schwarze, on the other hand, merges a human body with an animal head. An animalization similar to that found in the grotesque drawings of the Renaissance, which later became a form of caricature.
Both spheres, mythology and the grotesque, represent the realm of artistically inspired fantasy. Schwarze draws from this phantasmagorical reservoir and creates a completely new creature that can neither be classified mythologically nor falls into the category of the grotesque. Even the question of which animal has joined with the human being cannot be resolved, as here we are confronted with a completely unique creature, even if Schwarze makes a reference to the crab's claws and gives the figure a crab-like face.
Both spheres, mythology and the grotesque, represent the realm of artistically inspired fantasy. Schwarze draws from this phantasmagorical reservoir and creates a completely new creature that can neither be classified mythologically nor falls into the category of the grotesque. Even the question of which animal has joined with the human being cannot be resolved, as here we are confronted with a completely unique creature, even if Schwarze makes a reference to the crab's claws and gives the figure a crab-like face.
Instead of feeling trapped in its composite being, the creature smiles inscrutably and continues on its way. This makes it appear sympathetic rather than monstrous. Even if it can by no means be described as 'beautiful' or even 'cute', its charisma means that it is not ugly either. It is precisely because it cannot be categorized in any way that the independence of this lively-looking work of art comes to the fore, which, due to its monumental appearance for private spaces, unfolds an extraordinary presence. This effect is heightened by the almost overly clear body design characteristic of Schwarze's work, as exemplified by the powerful feet.
With his mysterious and very real fantasy creature, Schwarze also creates a manifesto of artistic imagination. It is capable of producing creations of its very own that are not even intended in the divine plan of creation.
About the artist
After an apprenticeship as a carpenter, Michael Schwarze studied architecture at the Werkkunstschule Krefeld from 1957 to 1959 and sculpture at the Hochschule der Künste Berlin from 1959 to 1964. There he became a master student of Karl Hartung. He then worked as a freelance sculptor, first in Berlin and from 1969 in Nümbrecht. He finally settled in Bahlingen am Kaiserstuhl in 1989.
Michael Schwarze has realized numerous sculptures for public spaces, such as " Column fountain" (1974, Nümbrecht), "Bookseller" (1985, Darmstadt and 1987, Düsseldorf), " Rhythm of life" (1988, Dortmund) or " Listening into the future" (2004, Cologne). He has received numerous awards for his unmistakably imaginative work, winning the Villa Romana Prize in Florence in 1967, the Critics' Prize of the Association of German Critics in Berlin in 1969, and the Art Prize of the City of Krefeld in the same year. Since 1968 Michael Schwarze's work has been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions in internationally renowned galleries.
Selected Bibliography
Ulrich von Poschinger-Camphausen (Hrsg.): Michael Schwarze. Werkbuch, Freiburg im Breisgau 2009, p. 31.
Gerd-Wolfgang Essen: Michael Schwarze. Skulpturen. Hamburg 1985.