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In her unique approach, Liebich employs techniques such as soldering and welding to bend and fuse her materials into shape. She makes use of powder-coated steel rods - heavy, structural objects we find in architectural foundations. Expertly, the artist alters these inflexible materials to create geometric forms that appear airy and even playful. Their compositions present an interesting lightness, testament to Liebich's mastery of her medium.

Discover Christine Liebich

December 2023

Studioportrait, Photo Studio Christine L

The artist refers to her works as “steel paintings,” rather than sculptures, despite their 3-dimensional qualities. Trained as a painter at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, Liebich received a hand injury which made painting with a brush very difficult. Instead, she turned to a new medium: growing up on a farm near Landshut, she was interested in manual skills such as welding, and used her knowledge to experiment with industrial materials and a new visual language.  

Selected Steel Paintings 

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In her steel painting titled 'Inception 3', concrete covers the surface of the metal in a thick mass. Like tears or cavities, the openings in the piece allow us a view into another world beyond the picture plane. The heavy layer of dense concrete juxtaposes with the lightness of the steel grid visible within its negative spaces. Unlike the structured support grid, the concrete is applied gesturally, creating an uneven and turbulent surface. We can discern the prints of the artist solidified in the painting. 
 

On the other hand, in her work 'Momentum Green Velvet', the green hue of the powder-coated steel brings a springtime freshness that contrasts with texture of the rods and the solidity of the zigzags. Liebich arranges the neat rows with careful precision, considering each aspect of the composition, from the metal’s surface to its weight.

Permanent Moment 

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In her Permanent Moment series Liebich uses structural steel to capture the natural form of a dandelion. An organic form becomes perpetually frozen in time, an explosion of straight steel rods juxtaposed with a fluid base. In Liebich’s 2022 monograph ‘Permanent Moment,’ author Maurice Funken writes that the ‘relief-like powder-coated steel dandelions become symbols of hope, strength, and confidence’. The monumental dandelions are a powerful reminder of the resilience of nature.   

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Christine Liebich completed her studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, and has set up her studio near Ulm, Germany. From 2016, Liebich’s work has been shown across Europe and in the US, and was part of the 2023 Triennale Ulm at the Kunsthalle Weishaupt, Museum Ulm. Notable 2022-2023 exhibitions include four group shows at the Galerie Bachlechner, Graz; Abstract Industrialism at EST Art Foundation, Leiden; and Painful Tenderness at Hinterconti, Hamburg, to name a few.

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