Stefan Rinck

Stefan Rinck creates sculptures that summon supernatural creatures, drawing on the persistence of monsters and divine beasts in the contemporary mindset. Working at the intersection of history, psychology, ritual, fantasy, aesthetics, and manual skill, Rinck's works go beyond the concrete form of idols and focus on their capacity to act as an echo chamber for the collective subconscious of cultural references. His figurative stone sculptures build a community of characters, animals, monsters, and hybrid creatures that are endowed with symbols and cultural attributes. 

His characteristic cohort of stone figures and inscrutable idols often draws inspiration from various epochs, particularly the French Romanesque period, popular culture, religion, and folklore. All are imbued with a sense of humour, a key element in Rinck’s vocabulary, whose lightness stands in contrast to the materiality of the stone. Rinck's public sculptures include works commissioned for Busan Biennale in South Korea, Vent des Fôret, La Forêt d’Art Contemporain, and Zionskirchplatz in Berlin-Mitte. 

Stefan Rinck (b. 1973, Germany) studied Art History and Philosophy at the Universität des Saarlandes in Saarbrücken and Sculpture at the Academy of Arts in Karlsruhe. His work has been subject to numerous exhibitions in Berlin, Brussels, Los Angeles, Madrid and Paris, among others. Recent solo and group exhibitions include Art Brussels, Sorry we’re Closed, Brussels (2023); Sleep of Reason, Semiose, Paris (2023); Course of Works, Hangar Y, Paris (2023); The Trembling of the Veil, Semiose, Paris (2022); Semigods of the Jockey Club, Skarstedt Gallery, East Hampton (2022); Manche trugen Federn, ERES Projects, München (2022); and You Know That You Are Human, Zionskirche, Berlin (2022). His work can be found in public and private collections around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; the Frac Corse, Corte; and the CBK Rotterdam, among others. Stefan Rinck is featured in 100 Sculptors of Tomorrow published by Thames & Hudson. The artist lives and works in Berlin.