Lot 508 Nα

'For me, the human figure still is the driving force behind my work, it stands at the beginning and will remain so to the end. In my eyes this subject has no restrictions and is as topical as ever. It was never and is not about maintaining functional credibility in composition. On the contrary, for me as a sculptor, the physical reality of the human being is not that important rather than, among all objects, emotional complexity of the human being, which is important as the strongest and irreplaceable stimulator. The transformation and reduction can proceed beyond recognition but it can also become an academic standard/code/canon. […] I have never been inspired on ground that has been virtually soaked in art and culture. Passion and inspiration arose more uniquely and more vehemently in a barren landscape and in dealing with and in being in contact with ordinary people. I am not looking for - what Gaugin was looking for - life back to nature with savages. No, on the contrary, an everyday city that is full of actual life is enough for me. I learn from observing the unsophisticated life of others, from a way of life for the sake of simple existence.' (Fritz Wotruba, cited after: Fritz Wotruba, exhib.cat. Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hannover 1967, p.14/15.)