Professional artist Birgit Piskor was born in the town of Calw, situated in the Black Forest region of Germany. At a young age, she immigrated to Victoria, British Columbia, on the west coast of Canada, where her studio and gallery are now located.

Known for her sensual organic forms, Piskor’s unique sculptural works are held in private collections both locally and internationally. Her work is steadily evolving – from gracefully arching female forms to striking geometric totems to large-scale abstract pieces. Each of Piskor’s original sculptures is individually hand built with exceptional attention to detail.

Piskor channels the industrial essence of concrete into shapes and textures that defy its inherent rigidity. The flowing organic concrete forms she produces are tactile expressions of transformation and visceral moments of beauty.

“I first encountered Birgit Piskor’s work on the Internet in small digital format. I had already imagined what her sculpture would be like in the flesh, but the reality of her work far exceeded what I had imagined. Her sculptures are a celebration of life, they are luminous and dense at the same time.

The spiral, one of her fundamental forms, is the idea representation of an evolution. From nothingness, forms arise and assert themselves to become like immense question marks uncoiling against themselves. Piskor abhors a vacuum, yet it is a void filled with a powerful silence. Her work reveals the best of ourselves.

How fortunate I am to have met this great artist. This is the beginning of a long collaboration.”

STATEMENT:

Concrete appeals to me on so many different levels – it has an ancient history, it is of the earth, and it is strong and enduring. Because concrete has no intrinsic form, it is also an incredibly versatile medium. By its very nature concrete embodies the transformative experience: mud becomes solid as stone. It is hard and calm. It is cool to the touch – I love that!

My work is largely about transformation. I believe that there is the potential for great beauty in change. My intent is to capture that edge of transformation and the liminal space between what is and what is yet to be. In that moment, all things are still possible, including great beauty and wonder and joy.

With my recent work, I continue to explore the concept of transformation and more deeply examine the path of surrender, change and a graceful evolution. Everything changes. At every level. All the time. Our response to these changes reverberates within ourselves and within our communities.

I am very fortunate to have traveled to some amazing places and to live in an incredible part of the world surrounded by an intense natural beauty. In this curved universe there is constant play and creative tension – a ceaseless becoming.

I am particularly inspired by Isamu Noguchi for his profound commitment to simplicity and the poetic suggestiveness of his forms as well as for his playfulness and the fact that he was able to bring modern sculpture into the realm of everyday life. I am also inspired by Henry Moore, because I share with him a love of time worn bones and stones and bits of driftwood as well as a strong heart connection to the landscape of home.

BIRGIT PISKOR