Studio Henry Baumann
Born in Hamburg, 10 June 1977, Baumann studied product design at the Akademie Beeldende Kunsten in Maastricht, the Netherlands and won his first design award in 2012. His work has been featured in exhibitions all over Europe and in the US, and examples of his work can be found in private collections across four continents as well as in the collections of Kunstkraftwerk, Leipzig and Kunstenfestival, Watou. After spending many years in The Netherlands and Portugal, Baumann returned to northern Germany in 2017 and produces his unique pieces in a creative coworking community in Southeast Berlin. His works are also influenced by the culture of exchange that takes place at these studios, of skill sharing and mutual inspiration.
"When I’m trying out materials, testing out their boundaries, I start with an initial idea. Attempting to make it, I repeatedly fail. Through this process I embark on a journey without knowing the destination, not knowing where it will take me. This journey is an adventure I enjoy and in which I also suffer a lot."
Never defining the final compositions through preliminary sketches, Henry Baumann’s shapes derive from the materials themselves, using their inherent qualities to create a new form. The objects arise from curiosity about a material and manufacturing process that he manipulates, and which develops through reproduction, mutation and selection. Coincidence plays a vital role in the creation process. The artist is fascinated by manufacturing processes in which he provides a setting for the creation of a product, but the actual form then arises by chance or with the help of nature. Colour is also an important element in Baumann’s work. The artist enjoys developing his own colour schemes as much as working with the ideas of clients.
