Walpoth makes figures that are normally naked or have little clothing to portray the curves of the human body. He paints shades of gray on them to convey a sense of silence or sorrow. He employs no assistants but does all the work on his own, including selecting, picking up and cutting the wood.
Walpoth's sculptures capture introspective moments, such as people deep in thought as if they have disassociated themselves from the real world and retreated to a space of their own. The figures are typically expressionless. And, when looking at their eyes, the audience may feel nothing.
Some show people curled up on the ground - sometimes hugging themselves - as if they have given up after a long struggle. The works, exuberant and with a poetic touch, however, reveal people's isolation from busy life.
The Beijing exhibition is the second leg of Walpoth's China tour, following his one-man show at the Zhejiang Art Museum in Hangzhou, which ran from November to February. The display includes a statue of Xiang Xiejing, a young model in Hangzhou whom Walpoth selected from some 20 candidates, because he was impressed by her "distant, cool temperament". This is the first time he has made an artwork based on an Asian model. He completed the work in two weeks and unveiled it at the opening of the Hangzhou exhibition.
Xiang says, "When Bruno worked on it, not only was he sculpting me but also, he was sculpting himself."
Walpoth is sharing with Chinese viewers the beauty of carving on wood and his thoughts on people's inner worlds through the exhibitions.
