Between Antiquity and Avant-Garde: The World of Veit Korn
Veit Korn, born in 1963 in Lohr am Main, Germany, is a sculptor and designer whose work combines craftsmanship with radical artistic vision. Trained in graphic design, sculpture, and interior architecture, he has developed a sustained exploration of form, space, and material throughout his career.
His early works reflect a clear orientation toward the classical figurative language of antiquity. Idealized corporeality, balance, and a sense of archaic dignity shape his initial sculptural vocabulary. Over time, however, Korn gradually expanded this aesthetic framework – evolving toward a more autonomous, abstract form language that moves away from the figure and embraces fragmentation, reduction, and a quiet sense of unease.
Today, Korn’s sculptures span a broad stylistic spectrum: from classical references to minimalist structures and forms shaped by existentialist ideas. Especially in the latter, his works convey a dense emotional atmosphere – addressing themes such as fear, emptiness, estrangement, or disorientation, as well as the search for meaning in a fractured world. Korn’s approach is never narrative; instead, he distills these psychological states into pure form, surface, and spatial resonance.
The physical presence of his works stems not only from their material weight but from an internal tension they emit. Reduced and often archaic in appearance, they resemble quiet monuments of a universal and cross-cultural memory. Many of his pieces reference elements from ancient or non-Western cultures – drawing on archetypal shapes, ritualistic objects, or timeless structures, reinterpreted in a contemporary context.
Korn favors stone as his primary material – valuing its resistance and durability. He frequently combines it with wood or metal, creating dynamic fusions that bridge different textures, symbolic layers, and cultural associations. His sculptures appear both ancient and modern, raw and refined, timeless and immediate.
