Stefan Rinck (born 1973) is a German visual artist working in the field of sculpture. He lives and works in Berlin.
Early life and education Stefan Rinck comes from an artist family in Zweibrücken. His father was the educator and draughtsman Norbert Rinck (1933–2016), his mother the painter and art teacher Ute Rinck, his sister is the writer Monika Rinck.Der Wald des Zeichners Die Rheinpfalz. Retrieved 2021-02-09. Before his studies Rinck learned stone sculpting as an apprentice to a stonemason. Subsequently, he studied art history and philosophy at Saarland University in Saarbrücken and sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe with Stephan Balkenhol from 1996 until 2000.Nino Mier Gallery Retrieved 2021-02-09.
Work For his figurative stone sculptures Rinck uses traditional tools and techniques of direct carving.Jeanne Brun (2020), "An Interview with Stefan Rinck" in: Brun, Jeanne, Strick, Jeremy, S. Palmer, Daniel, Pleased to meet you n°9, Paris, Semiose éditions, 2021, , page 4. He works with sandstone, limestone, marble and diabase. He finds his sources of inspiration in various epochs in particular the French Romanesque period as well as popular culture such as video games and comics.Jeanne Brun (2020), "An Interview with Stefan Rinck" in: Brun, Jeanne, Strick, Jeremy, S. Palmer, Daniel, Pleased to meet youn°9, Paris, Semiose éditions, 2021, , page 5.Jeremy Strick (2020), "A Conversation with Stefan Rinck" in: Brun, Jeanne, Strick, Jeremy, S. Palmer, Daniel, Pleased to meet you n°9, Paris, Semiose éditions, 2021, , page 6. Rinck's stone figures build a community of characters, animals, monsters and hybrid creatures endowed with symbols and cultural attributes. He uses examples from history, myths, religion and folklore as reference materialXander Karskens (2007), Text on the exhibition "The Present Order Is the disorder of the future" at Frans Hals Museum. Retrieved 2021-02-09. and places them in a contemporary context. He often deals with the issues of collective unconscious. The art theorist Bazon Brock states, Rinck adopts the figurative forms of expression of culturally collective fantasies remaining his independent language.Bazon Brock (2016), "Does God still want anything to do with artists? On the sculptures of Stefan Rinck", in: Brock, Bazon, Stefan Rinck, Lubok Verlag, Leipzig / Sorry We're Closed, Brussels, 2016, , page 34. One of the key elements of his language is the humorous expression whose lightness stands in contrast to the materiality of the stone.Jeremy Strick (2020), "A Conversation with Stefan Rinck" in: Brun, Jeanne, Strick, Jeremy, S. Palmer, Daniel, Pleased to meet you n°9, Paris, Semiose éditions, 2021, , page 7. The humor has a liberating effect and helps the viewer to experience the unconscious. The cross-cultural and trans-historical communication qualities allow Rinck's sculptures to achieve universalizing ends, claims curator Daniel S. Palmer.Daniel S. Palmer (2020), "Here Today, Here Tomorrow" in: Brun, Jeanne, Strick, Jeremy, S. Palmer, Daniel, Pleased to meet you n°9, Paris, Semiose éditions, 2021, , page 11. In 2019, Stefan Rinck was featured in the Thames & Hudson publication 100 Sculptors of Tomorrow. The documentary Heart of Stone by Sonja Baeger which pictures the production of Rinck's three monumental-in-size sculptures was premiered in 2021 in Berlin.
Public sculptures Rinck has been realizing public sculptures since 2008. During his participation at the Busan Biennale in 2008 in South Korea, the granite sculpture The Division of Woman and Man was commissioned.Busan Biennale Retrieved 2021-02-09. In 2018, the work The Mongooses of Beauvais was permanently installed in the city of Paris at 53-57 rue de Grennelle (Beaupassage).Stefan Rinck, for Emerige, Paris 7th (Beaupassage) Ministry of Culture (France) Retrieved 2021-02-09. Another monumental limestone sculptures were realized at Vent des Fôret (One of those who were too long in the woods, 2010)Vent des Fôret Retrieved 2021-02-09. and La Forêt d'Art Contemporain (Saint Georges et son dragon de compagnie, 2020)La Forêt d'Art Contemporain Retrieved 2021-02-09. in France. In November 2021, the sandstone sculpture Why I bear / Grosser Lastenbär was inaugurated at Zionskirchplatz in Berlin-Mitte."Großer Lastenbär" am Zionskirchplatz aufgestellt Berliner Morgenpost. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
Exhibitions Selected solo exhibitions 2025: The Return of the Alpine Clan, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich 2025: Parade, Domaine de Chamarande, Chamarande 2024: The Bilss of Ignorance, CCA Andratx, Andratx, Mallorca 2023: Early Birds and Late Night Lizards, Nino Mier Gallery, New YorkNino Mier Gallery Retrieved 2023-12-12. 2022: Semigods of the Jockey Club, Skarstedt, East HamptonStefan Rinck Presents 'Semigods of the Jockey Club' Hypebeast. Retrieved 2023-12-21. 2021: In this Garden he Reads the Diary of the World, Sorry We're Closed, BrusselsRichard Leydier (2021), Review art press. Retrieved 2021-02-11.Gwennaëlle Gribaumont (2021), Les gardiens monstrueux, féroces et délicieux de Stefan Rinck La Libre Belgique. Retrieved 2021-03-04. 2020: I feel Air from other Planets, Nino Mier Gallery, Los Angeles 2019: Carnival, CAC Chapelle du Genéteil, Château-GontierKristell Le Gall (2019), Les mini-monstres de l'artiste allemand Stefan Rinck à découvrir à Château-Gontier Ouest-France. Retrieved 2021-02-12. 2017: Metaphysical Casino, Semiose, ParisReview paris art. Retrieved 2021-02-12. 2011: Die Geister die ich rief, Kunstverein Zweibrücken, Zweibrücken 2007: Vicerunt Viderunt Venerunt (with Uwe Henneken), The Breeder, Athens 2006: Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Munich
Selected group exhibitions 2025: Amsterdam Sculpture Biennale ArtZuid, Amsterdam 2024: The Atomic Age, Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, ParisAu Musée d'art moderne de Paris, le retour de la menace nucléaire Le Monde, Retrieved 2024-11-27L'âge atomique, la nouvelle ère des hommes et des artistes au Musée d'art moderne de Paris Le Figaro, Retrieved 2024-11-27Critique expositions : "L'Âge atomique" une exposition aussi scientifique qu'artistique Radio France, Retrieved 2024-11-27 2024: Des exploits, des chefs d'œuvre, MAC Musée d'Art Contemporain Marseille, MarseilleDes exploits, des chefs-d'œuvre. Tableaux d'une exposition [mac] Musée d'Art Contemporain, retrieved 6 May 2024. 2023: Un Été au Havre, Le HavreVanessa Leroy (2023), Un Été au Havre. Les créatures de Stefan Rinck s'emparent de l'hôtel de ville Actu. Retrieved 2023-12-20. 2022: Nothing Is Permanent – Parcours de sculptures, curated by Alex Reding, on the occasion of European Capital of Culture, Esch-sur-AlzettePhilip Michel (2022), Esch2022 / Ariston, "Bridderhaus" und Skulpturenweg: Einweihungs-Dreierpack in Esch Tageblatt. Retrieved 2023-12-21. 2021: Supernature, Centre d'Art Contemporain, Yverdon-les-Bains 2020: Biennale Gherdëina 7 - a breath? a name? – the ways of worldmaking, Ortisei / St. UlrichAnnouncement e-flux. Retrieved 2021-02-12. 2020: Restons Unis, Galerie Perrotin, ParisSpotlight Artforum. Retrieved 2021-02-12. 2019: Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain Hors les Murs, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris 2008: Busan Biennale, Busan 2007: The Present Order Is the disorder of the future, Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem / Hal & Hof
Public collections
Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München, Munich, DE Fonds régional d'art contemporain Normandie, Caen & Sotteville-lès-Rouen, FR Fonds régional d'art contemporain Corse, Corte, FR Centrum Beeldende Kunst Rotterdam, Rotterdam, NL Musée de la Loterie, Brussels, BE Sammlung Krohne, Duisburg, DE
Bibliography
Monographs
Stefan Rinck. Published by Michael Hering, Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München / Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich 2026. Verlag der Buchhandlung Franz und Walther König. Authors: Michael Hering, Max Henry, Monika Rinck, Christiane Voss, Benedikt Ledebur. . Bazon Brock, Stefan Rinck, Lubok Verlag, Leipzig / Sorry We're Closed, Brussels, 2016, . Stones. Gods. Humans. Animals. Photographs by Ute Rinck, text by Monika Rinck, This Side Up, Barcelona/Galeria Alegria, Barcelona/Sorry We're Closed, Brussels/Semiose, Paris, 2020, . Jeanne Brun, Jeremy Strick, Daniel S. Palmer, "Stefan Rinck", Pleased to meet you, n°9, Paris, Semiose éditions, 2021, .
Collective books
Ansgar Reiß, Apokalyptik als Widerstand. Die Sammlung Tom Biber im bayrischen Armeemuseum, Verlag Kettler, 2014, . Kurt Beers, Richard Cork, 100 Sculptors of Tomorrow, Thames & Hudson, London, 2019, .
References
External links