Christine Liebich - Knight Circle Nero, 2021

Chrstine Liebich refers to her works as “steel paintings,” rather than sculptures, despite their 3-dimensional qualities and her use of industrial materials such as metal. 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 of expression: growing up on a farm near Landshut, she was interested in manual skills such as welding, and used her knowledge to experiment with steel rods and concrete. Her compositions have a distinct clarity and airiness which conceals the laborious processes of their making. Despite the density of the metal, there is a sense of lightness and playful geometry.