This article is written by Dimitris Stathopoulos and was first published at http://voltarw.blogspot.gr/

The Aegean light. A magnet. The marble of Naxos. The medium. The apotheosis of simplicity. Forms. Ingbert Brunk is a German sculptor born in Dannenberg near Hamburg who has been living in Greece for the past 30 years, creating works of art in using marble. Forms which highlight the simplicity and, at the same time, the dynamics of this material.

The marble volumes are transformed. The Aegean light penetrates the marble. The marble loses its weight and a work of art emerges! The initial texture of this hard material turns into a fine one in order to convey its tranquility and its discreet domination. The Naxos crystalline and highly translucent marble is the one that inspires him and the one that he uses almost exclusively in his creations.

"I concluded my studies at the School of Fine Arts of "Hochschule der Künste" in Berlin and traveled to Greece as a student as part of my studies at the university. The quality of the raw material which is a key advantage for creating, immediately made me realize how important the island of Naxos would prove to be for me. The hospitality of the people, the workers at the marble quarries and factories, the locals... they all contributed to my decision to settle on the island permanently and to connect my life with this place." During the interview the artist also stresses how important it is to work in the same place where the material used derives from.

Upon the first eye contact with the sculptor’s work we come to wonder about the properties of the material used. These works - squares of white marble in the format of canvases - are honed thin and inscribed with fragile designs, which appear by virtue of the translucence of the marble. They are worked into the surface as sharp facets or gentle curves, in the shape of ellipses, circles and squares, creating simple ornamental patterns, which, in resonance with light, become virtually transparent. These marble pictures captivate by their lightness, dwelling somewhere between hardness and delicacy, serenity and movement, weight and immateriality. 

The conception of the idea

In absolute isolation. He searches for shapes and forms. From Ancient Greece, Byzantium and today. From his childhood in Germany and from the everyday life that surrounds him. Pieces of his memory become sculptural entities and the ephemeral becomes a trace. He draws inspiration from the nature that surrounds him and from the marble of Naxos itself. This is where he turns to, in order to find the essential and the timeless. 

Τhe atelier

During the last five years, the artist has created his new studio on the east side of the island of Naxos in the area of Azala. In visiting his atelier, the guest enters into a live space which could itself be described as a work of art.

The artist never works "against the stone”. He includes the idiosyncracies of every piece into the working process; indeed, he makes it dependent on them. In this way, he creates highly aesthetic works in which sensitive planning and consummate craftsmanship unite in greatest harmony. 

The works of Ingbert Brunk "travel" around the world: Europe, America, Asia. He often chooses to visit the place where his work is going to be positioned and care for its correct positioning himself. "I want to be aware of the light of the space that will host my project. The reflections of light are those which will make it stand out even further". "Those who will choose to buy one of my projects for their home, I wish that they will be conveyed to the indelible and distinctive light emitted by the Aegean Sea. To the linear simplicity of the Cycladic landscape".

 

 

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From: Eva Kanellopoulos

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