Sitzende Figur / Seated Figure

Hede Bühl, who studied with Joseph Beuys and Ewald Mataré, is among the artists who found inspiration in non-European and prehistoric artworks. Bühl’s main subject has always been the human body, with a particular focus on the head in her later works. Throughout her oeuvre, the human form has been depicted using a diverse range of materials. This Seated Figure appears archaic and enigmatic. It is not immediately clear whether it is a mutilated body, a torso, or a bound figure. Certain elements are recognizable: there is a head, whose eyes are indicated through a sort of visor; a compact upper body that seems to be bound in a cross shape; and two leg stumps resting on a base. The symmetrical figure appears stiff and introverted, like a pupa or a mummy that will not reveal its secret.