New contemporary sculpture
Manuela Leinhoß
Born in 1973, German artist Manuela Leinhoss received no formal art training; instead, she studied philology and philosophy at the University of Cologne, a background which informs the densely layered character and literary allusion of her work.
The titles of her pieces are often gleaned from texts by writers and poets such as Virginia Woolf, Hilda Doolittle or Sylvia Plath, and at least partially aim to translate linguistic meaning into plastic form.
In keeping with this focus, Leinhoss's use of highly diverse materials is dictated as much by the desire to evoke specific concepts and ideas as the artist's interest in formal and spatial qualities.
Nevertheless, Leinhoss's works retain something of the complexity of her literary interests; the apparent disparity between object and title a space in which meaning is fluid and multiple.
In this respect, Leinhoss's sculpture at least partially aligns itself with the increasing number of artists applying neo-narrational concerns for word and text to their practice.
further articles
related articles: German art now
