In my work, I try to break through the static, moving towards a kind of fictional renaissance. I question without judging, and without providing answers. In terms of content, I engage with social themes. Observations of global situations, as well as impulses from my immediate surroundings, become motives for my artistic practice. I understand my work as petrified moments. The design moves between reality, fiction, design objects, ambivalence and irritation. The choice of material is closely connected to the respective project. Both radiance and intensity oscillate with the subject matter and the material.

"Aesthetics and meaning are the envelope of my work."

Veronika Dierauer | Sculptor | Artist

 

Veronika Dierauer is a Swiss sculptor and artist whose large-scale sculptures and sculptural works are created entirely by hand. Her work unfolds in a compelling dialogue between the Renaissance and the present, bringing together classical sculpture and a distinctive contemporary language of form. Marble stands at the centre of her practice, its weight, surface, and expressive force shaping her works in essential ways. At the same time, other materials are introduced where they deepen the artistic context of a piece. The result is contemporary sculpture of strong physical presence, combining craftsmanship, material sensitivity, and conceptual depth. Her work moves between fine art, sculpture, and public art, engaging with form, memory, and social themes.

The Making of a Form

At the beginning of every work there is an idea and a concept. No sculpture comes into being without metaphor or conceptual substance. Marble, which has taken millions of years to form, is for me too valuable a material to become a mere experiment. That is why I develop each work from a clear vision and a determined will to shape form.

From the idea, a model takes shape. It is through this model that I decide whether a sculpture will be realized. Only then do I select the stone directly at the quarry. Its structure, sound, and internal composition are essential, since even small fissures in the marble can undermine a concept. The choice of material therefore requires experience and precision.

With the model, the translation into stone begins. Depending on the scale of the work, I use different transfer methods, including pointing or grid transfer. Larger sections are drilled and precisely split off with wedges. From there, I work my way toward the form step by step using a point chisel, tooth chisel, and flat chisel, until even the finer elements are fully developed.

In the subsequent sanding process, the final surface emerges through the use of different tools and abrasives. In this way, the sculpture’s final skin gradually takes shape, bringing the work to completion.