Wolfgang Laib

Over the last 25 years, Wolfgang Laib has used such materials as pollen (which he collects in the forests and fields near his home in rural Germany), beeswax, milk, and stone to create ego-less works of such meditative simplicity and harmonious resonance, that they defy easy categorization. Indeed, his works call for an entirely new gaze, far from the reflexes which make us give each thing a name and function. They call for another experience of time, no longer that of clocks but of the cycle of the seasons. An ancient, universal heritage, akin to zen, is revived in his work: our capacity to marvel before the primordial beauty of nature. This book represents the first intensive survey of his art, from the first "Milk Stones" to the recent "Rice Houses" and "Wax Rooms." Laib may be among the most important artists of his time precisely because of, and not in spite of, the inconspicuous nature of his work.