A visionary German sculptor makes her U.S. debut

The “Past Future” exhibition at The Something Machine gallery in Bellport features a startling array of German sculptor Hede Bühl’s work.

It’s the 81-year-old artist’s first exhibition in the U.S.

“I wanted to show a selection of her iconic subjects,” said co-curator Jeffrey Uslip, looking over the range. “Hede’s work predates our idea of science fiction. She’s pioneered a sculptural form and the work is feminist, and that’s why I felt it was important to show this.”

The wide, clean exhibit space is the perfect backdrop for Bühl’s work. There are 11 works in the show.

“This ‘Kokon’ (‘Cocoon’) is from 1978,” Uslip said, pointing to a large bronze, 65 inches long, with a dark-brown patina. The figure is lying down, seemingly wrapped mummy-like, similar to an Egyptian sarcophagus. “If it’s true that humankind has the capacity to redeem himself, this sculpture asks the question, What will emerge?”

Call it a restrained strangeness. Her works are polished, many gleaming, but absent of facial expressions. They have subtle imperfections, but you need to look for them.

“Wachter” (“Watcher”), an 82.6-inch-tall polished bronze, is imposing and resembles a “Star Wars” officer. “She predates George Lucas’s work by decades,” said Uslip, adding of its stance, “which is one reason I curated this show in a cinematic gaze.”

“You see the pits?” This journalist moves closer. “It’s intentional. She’s also slightly dented the head. They lived a life. She’s talking about humanity.”

One of Bühl’s head sculptures, “Kopf,” is carved alabaster with a flesh-tone. Are they x’s or are they crosses scattered across? Uslip said they could be both. “She humanizes and makes something look like flesh,” Uslip said, pointing to delicate grey-like lines, suggesting blood vessels. “Alabaster is absolutely fragile and to create this takes immense technical skill.”

The “Koloss” is a plaster and paint bust with truncated legs, bound eyes. “It’s from 1972 and her earliest work in the show,” Uslip said. “It takes on a bondage tone. If we think about when she was born, in 1940 during World War II in Germany, it was a horrific time, even though she was an infant then.”

Uslip’s collaborator, Esther Flury, originally from Switzerland, who earned an M.A. in art history from the University of Zurich, added another postscript to Bühl’s life.

“What she carries in her work is a subconscious level of her experiences in Germany,” Flury said. “She lost her father in 1942. She became the first student of Joseph Beuys in Düsseldorf. (Beuys was a German artist, teacher and theorist, and widely regarded as one of the most influential artists of the second half of the 20th century.) She received what would be considered a master’s under him.”

Uslip said he’d been corresponding with Bühl, who lives in Düsseldorf, for over a year and was flying to Germany Aug. 1 to meet with her for the first time. Bühl keeps it close to the vest, but her awards include the Villa Romana Prize, the Villa Massimo Fellow and the Käthe’ Kollwitz Prize.

Uslip compared the striking Papay Solomon exhibit in May to Bühl’s work.

“I think people who saw Papay and now this, it’s showing how real these artists’ lives are. To go from an African and American who is 26 and a woman who is 81 and an established and widely unknown artist reflects our point of view; it’s presenting a new offering of contemporary art history. I called this exhibit ‘Past Future,’ the works of the past but also the future. The show is a little scary, but life is scary.”