Heart of Stone (2021)

Stefan Rinck is one of the few contemporary artists that practice stone carving as a form of fast-changing art, from sketch to sculpture- almost a contradiction in itself. His works begin as simple sketches, in likeness to a child's drawing, and capture what seems to be comical avatars and odd cartoon figures, but these images are the hybrids from various motifs taken from throughout the many epochs of art history. This documentary conveys the development of Stefan Rinck's monumental-in-size body of work; from the raw stone block to the oversized, magnetic figures that emerge out from the place of creation. The hard stone medium requires a team of assistants and seeing this cooperation gives us insight into the creation of large-scale contemporary art production. Simultaneously, the document conveys the artist's thought processes while also conveying our cultural history within the context of his work. Animated sketches link the theoretic with the impacting visuals of the work-in-progress, bringing forth the playful side of his practice. Rinck takes the age-old human desire to want to mystify statues and bequeath them as places of personal desires very seriously. His figures confront you with intentionally ambiguous messages while also keeping them cute, innocent and endearing. The combination of lightness and depth make his internationally recognized stone characters incomparable.