Stephan Marienfeld
b. 1966

Stephan Marienfeld was the assistant of Prof. Anthony Cragg, whose graphic designs he translated into the third dimension. To this day, the elegant biomorphic curves of the Craggian school characterize the oeuvre of Stephan Marienfeld, yet his works remain distinctive, independent and striking.

An important point of reference for Marienfeld’s objects is the human form and its perception. He develops the tension and curvature of surfaces and the altering light reflection that results. Applying strikingly original aesthetics, he creates abstract bodies made of materials such as polyester, lacquer, concrete, bronze and aluminum, which seem endowed with their own unique character.

Especially in his bondage works, the artist succeeds in reinterpreting the modern nude without the direct representation of an explicit body image. The soft, round shapes that seem to emerge between the tightly drawn rope stand in alluring contrast to the hard material.

In addition to their technical brilliance, Stephan Marienfeld’s works are convincing due to their very own formal language – a fact that increasingly places the artist within the focus of renowned international collections.

His signature “Bondage” sculptures made Stephan Marienfeld internationally famous. The term “bondage” not only implies the art of tying up, but is also synonymous with “domination”. With apparently effortless ease, the sculptor binds the hardest materials with ropes, mastering stone and metal. Or is it the material itself that resists the ropes and breaks the boundaries?

With his “Bondage” sculptures, Marienfeld has pioneered a new style format which, despite its abstract form, also possesses an erotic component. Along with juxtapositions of apparent and real, between hard and soft, it is the interplay of light in the round surfaces that particularly fascinates the artist.

Stephan Marienfeld was Professor Tony Cragg’s right-hand man for many years. Today, this award-winning sculptor himself teaches at the Freie Kunstakademie Essen and creates a sensation both nationally and internationally with his distinctive sculptures.

Marienfeld is regarded as one of the most important up-and-coming sculptors in Germany. In 2019, he was invited to take part in the exhibition “Space, Time and Existence” at Palazzo Mora at the Venice Biennale with his striking “Dislike” sculptures. The installation marks the entrance area of the Palazzo .