Join the Galerie Philia newsletter. Be the very first to know about our limited arrivals, receive special offers and more.

    Bodo Sperlein

    Bodo Sperlein

    1. Where were you born and where are you from ?

    I was born in Bambert, Germany, a northern Bavaria territory

    2. What is your first memory connected to the art world ?

    My cousin Andrea, and the tomb of Tutankhamen

    3. Have you always worked in the art/design field ?

    Other than doing a stint in retail I have always worked creatively

    4. What led you to the design creation ?

    Studying design at Camberwell College of Arts in London.

    5. How would you describe your creative process and it influences ?

    First and foremost, well researched. I am influenced by historical methods and skills and try to bring them into the twenty-first century.

    6. Could you describe a typical day of your work ?

    There is no typical day; projects are so varied due to materiality, style, and other challenges

    7. Why did you choose the specific materials you work with ?

    Traditional materials are at the heart of what I do, they are more often than not more environmentally friendly than more modern processes. Traditional materials such as wood brass and ceramics are also more durable and built to last, not throw away.

    8. What are the technical particularities of your creations ?

    There are technical limitations in my creations due to the materiality of each work. Mixing traditional skills and modern techniques and prioritising low tech intervention over high tech.

    9. What advices could you give to beginning artists who would like to create sculptural design works ?

    Be true to yourself
    Set trends, don’t follow them
    Be more unique

    10. If your works had to belong to a design movement, in which one would you define it ?

    The Viennese Secession, it is the purest and most minimal form of Art Nouveau

    11. What designers have influenced you ?

    Oscar Neimayer, for his principles around creating buildings for the people, such as the United Nations building. I’m more inspired by artists than designers so I would argue people like Koloman Moser and Sophie Tauber-Arp are also influences

    12. What contemporary designers do you appreciate ?

    Michael Anastassiades and Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec

    13. What contemporary artists (in any kind of art) have you been inspired by ?

    Cornelia Parker, her installation “An Exploded View” was particularly impactful, as well as her work at the V&A

    14. If you had to summarize your creations in one word or sentence, what would it be ?

    Honest

    15. Is there anything you would like to add ?

    The importance of individualism in gallery pieces

    Proust Questionnaire with very short answers (one or a few words) :
    (The Proust Questionnaire is a set of questions answered by the French writer Marcel Proust. Other historical figures who have answered confession albums are Oscar Wilde, Karl Marx, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Cézanne…)

    1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?

    8 hours sleep

    2. What is your greatest fear?

    Fragility and old age

    3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

    Ordering too much food in restaurants

    4. What is the trait you most deplore in others?

    Self-importance, people taking themselves too seriously

    5. Which living person do you most admire?

    Neil MacGregor

    6. What is your greatest extravagance?

    Eating in restaurants

    7. What is your current state of mind?

    Content

    8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

    Pronouncing words correctly first time

    9. What is the quality you most like in a man person ?

    The ability to save me in an avalanche

    10. What is the quality you most like in a woman person?

    Nurturing

    11. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

    Sculptural, materiality, historical

    12. Which talent would you most like to have?

    Despite being told I have “piano fingers”, I do not know how to play, so I would really love if I could put them to use

    13. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

    I would have gone to university earlier so I could start working creatively faster

    14. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

    Surviving a car accident at 1.5 yrs old

    15. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

    A supercomputer/robot/android

    16. Where would you most like to live?

    In Europe

    17. What is your most treasured possession?

    My company

    18. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

    Not getting out of bed

    19. What is your favorite occupation?

    Cooking

    20. What is your most marked characteristic?

    Loyalty

    21. What do you most value in your friends?

    Loyalty

    22. Who are your favorite writers?

    Giles Morton, Erich Kästner, Stefan Zweig, Thomas -Klaus and Erika Man, Jo Orton

    23. Who is your hero of fiction?

    Harry Palmer

    24. Which historical figure do you most identify with?

    Jean Cocteau

    25. Who are your heroes in real life?

    Scientists and people working to make the future habitable and fight disease

    26. What are your favorite names?

    Perpetua & Tristan

    27. What is it that you most dislike?

    Self importance

    28. What is your greatest regret?

    Not going to university earlier

    29. How would you like to die?

    Peacefully

    30. What is your motto?

    Never give up

    Leave a Reply