Wolfgang Laib

Laib's spiritual practice consists of performing the creation of his sculpture installations. Laib spends each spring and summer gathering pollen from friend and meadows of Southern Germany, where he lives. His "Pollen" installations involve collection pollen by hand and shaking it into a jar. When he has collected enough material, he distributes the pollen by hand into square like formation on the floor of the exhibition space. His "Milkstone" installations are equally labor intensive. He sands down one side of a square marble slab and places it on the gallery floor. He then pours an even layer of mile onto the slab. when the milk curdles, Laid cleans the slab and repeats the process.



The repetitive nature of his work brings him into a state of mediation where he sees himself as "participating" with natural materials instead of making art. Laib's use of natural material is intended to create an experience of pure potentiality. Laib treats his physical body as a vessel for divine beauty. He does not credit himself for the creation of his art objects. He simply devotes himself to regular spiritual practice and his sculptures become and extension of his performance.

Laib states: “I am not afraid of beauty, unlike most artists today. The pollen, the milk, the beeswax, they have a beauty that is incredible, that is beyond the imagination, something which you cannot believe is a reality—and it is the most real. I could not make it myself, I could not create it myself, but I can participate in it. Trying to create it yourself is only a tragedy, participating in it is a big chance.”—Wolfgang Laib




Laib's work is influenced by both Western and Eastern mysticism. His work is grounded in various aesthetic cultural rituals such as Tibetan Mandalas and Navajo Sand Painting. Laib's conceptual art references are very few, but included performance artist Josephy Beuys. Beuys was know for his shamanistic rituals intended to heal the sick. However, Laib's practice differs from Beuys because he prefers to work in silence and solitude. Instead of using charisma to involve a crowd in his work, he immerses himself in solitary practice where is able to acknowledge himself as part of the larger whole. His sculptures capture the essence of his deliberate performative gestures without the need to explicitly perform in public.

Laib at the Sperone Westwater