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Friedemann Bühler

Spotlight on the artist...

Friedemann Bühler was born in Stuttgart in 1966 and has been working with wood since 1996. In 2002 he opened his studio in Langenburg. Friedemann bühler crafts sculptural vessels, bowls, and translucent shades for lamps.

His wod turning technique is rather complex and time consuming, resulting in one of a kind of art as well as small series of objects. He selects his wood with care, prefering wood from the surrounding forests of Hohenlohe, a small region in the northern part of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. His objects are usually made of oak, maple, ash, walnut, wild service tree, hornbeam and birch.

After selecting the tree to be felled, Friedemann immediately proceeds to go to work in the woods using an axe and a chain saw to form rough blanks. The remainder of the work is completed in the studio where some of the blanks a soaked in large vats of water, then are turned wet and finally dried. Other blanks are turned ' in the rough ' and then set aside to dry. naking it it some years before these turned objects are completed for sale.

the artist uses gouges, chisel and hooks. Sometimes he develops of modifies special tools himself. Other tools, such as shell auger bits, are no longer available so he has to revert to historic tools.

inspiration comes from other cultures and time periods as well as from contemporary ceramics, which provide Friedemann Bühler with valuable impulses that all flow into his works of art.

All of his work has a simple, but perfect flow-line and the objects surfaces are either smooth and finely sanded down or rough and brushed. To achieve a wide range of surfaces, he uses different techniques such as texturing, brushing, bleaching, staining, varnishing and oiling.

Friedemann Bühler's combination of craftsmanship and personal artistery bring out the unique beauty of the wood and result in pieces of timeless elegance, not only pleasing to the observer's eye, but also to the touch.