Wolfgang Laib (1950)

Wolfgang Laib

Wolfgang Laib is a contemporary German artist. He is known for his minimalistic and meditative installations that often incorporate natural materials, such as pollen, beeswax, and rice.

Laib studied medicine before turning to art, and his interest in the natural sciences has influenced his artistic practice. He is particularly interested in the connections between the human body, nature, and spirituality, and his work often explores themes of ritual, transformation, and transcendence.

One of Laib's best-known works is "Pollen from Hazelnut," an installation in which he collected pollen from hazelnut trees in the surrounding landscape and displayed it in a large, shallow wooden container. The work is intended to evoke a sense of the cyclical nature of life and the interconnectedness of all living things.

Laib has exhibited his work in museums and galleries around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. He represented Germany in the 1982, Venice Biennale and was included with his works in the Documenta 7 in 1982, and then in the Documenta 8 in 1987. In 2015, he was awarded the Praemium Imperiale, one of the world's most prestigious art prizes.

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