THE SEEDLING

The work The Seedling presents another step in the development of Max Jungblut into an autonomous practice with figurative forms. This time represented by a seed, nature is not only used as a subject, but also plays a leading role in the design and work process, in which the artist aims to rework industrialised wood in order to give it a more natural look. This process requires a dedicated focus, extensive hours in the atelier and a lot of care and passion. It is within this work effort where the intricate matrix of lines and shapes evolves and makes up the final piece.

For the past ten years, the artistic process in which artist and designer Jungblut reworks and refines industrialized wood in order to bring it closer to a more natural state has resulted in a number of high-end design works and objects. Although earlier projects such as Spatial Object (2009) and Reconciliation (2016) already play with the notion of the autonomous object-as-art, this project seems to signal in a definitive break with any reference to functionality, instead fully appealing to our faculties of memory and imagination.

The creation of The Seedling follows an intuitive method forming its lines and organic shape, using the signature tile-lath structure that has become so characteristic of the pieces by Jungblut. The resulting piece looks monumental, but vulnerable. Both feminine and playful. The finishing of the wood structure reveals some parts being sanded, while others remain untouched. With this, Jungblut seems to again walk the fine balance between the natural and the industrial, between the innate and the man-made.