In 1989 Wilhelm Mundt completed the sculpture Stein 001. This piece marked the beginning of a chronological series of abstract, bumbling sculptures, known asTrashstones. The project has characterized Wilhelm Mundt’s artistic course, his goal being to create 1000 works.
Underneath the reflective surfaces of the secretive sculptures, one can catch a glimpse of an inner content, however it is forever hidden. The organic shapes are drawing our imagination into peculiar orbits, looking upon them as eggs or fallen meteors, or perceiving them as foreign organisms or mystical vessels. At the same time, they are easily positioned within the tradition of modernism, in line with predecessors such as Brancusi or Arp. Regardless of their associative potential, Mundt emphasizes that his main objective is to create something which doesn’t pretend to be anything other than that what it is.
Mundt’s formula of creation leaves plenty of room for variation and unpredictability. Trashstones exist in many shapes and sizes; however the chronological order is always reminding us of their physical kinship.
Wilhelm Mundt was born in 1959 in Grevenbroich, Germany. After completing his studies at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf, he began a long international exhibition career. As teacher in art, he also became a Professor at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. In 2007, Mundt received the Jack Goldhill Award for Sculpture from the London Royal Academy of Arts.