1067 - Gerda Bier, Stele, tall sculpture in iron and wood, 1987

Gerda Bier, Stele, tall sculpture in iron and wood, 1987 Iron and wood, signed and dated on the reverse (19)87. This work demonstrates the characteristic combination of natural material and striking craftsmanship. The upright, almost anthropomorphic work combines raw organic structure with the austerity of iron and exudes an archaic dignity. Sculptures from this series are located in the Kunsthalle Mannheim or in the Würth Collection, Künzelsau, good age-appropriate condition, 96 x 19 x 16.5 cm (HxWxD) Gerda Bier, born in 1943 in Schwäbisch Hall, studied from 1967 to 1976 at the Staatliche Akademie für Werkkunst and the Hochschule der Künste Berlin, where she became a master student in 1975; since 1976 she has worked as a freelance artist in Schwäbisch Hall. Her sculptures are made of wood and iron, often supplemented by sheet metal and paper, and form groups of works such as bound figures, boards, gates, soul houses and standards; the "Großer Seelenturm" of 2006 in wood and iron measures 250 cm. The sculptor has been a member of the Künstlerbund Baden-Württemberg since 1984 and belongs to the Darmstädter Sezession; in 1998 she received the Erich Heckel Prize of the Künstlerbund, in 2020 the Hohenlohe Art Prize Werner Grund. Works in public space stand in Sinsheim, Ellwangen and Neckarsulm and Ulm, among other places; her works are held by the Kunsthalle Mannheim, the Würth Collection in Künzelsau, the ratiopharm Collection in Ulm, the Städtische Museen Heilbronn and the Hällisch-Fränkisches Museum in Schwäbisch Hall.