WOBBLY WONKY at home
ART RESIDENCY
14 days… work! work! work.
Day 13
Today began outside the studio.
I found myself, once again, climbing headfirst into a construction waste container in search of overlooked materials. It is one of my favourite parts of this process—not only because of the unexpected discoveries, but because of the expressions on the builders’ faces when they realise that someone is deliberately stopping to rescue fragments they had already dismissed. What is considered waste in one context can suddenly become possibility in another. Value, after all, is often a matter of perspective.
Back in the studio, today was dedicated to the final refinements. Small adjustments, subtle shifts, decisions about balance, proportion and tension. It is remarkable how the smallest intervention can transform the character of an object. I also began photographing each individual work in preparation for tomorrow’s final studio presentation—a private exhibition without visitors, created exclusively for all of you who have accompanied me throughout this residency.
As the project approaches its conclusion, I notice a certain melancholy. Tomorrow will already be the final day.
At the same time, I know how much I am looking forward to returning to the canvas. These two weeks have not replaced painting; they have renewed my relationship with it. Stepping away from one medium has allowed me to understand it more clearly. Sculpture has challenged my habits, slowed my thinking, and reminded me that every artistic language reveals something the others cannot.
Above all, what remains is gratitude. Gratitude for nearly two weeks of uninterrupted experimentation, for the freedom to follow curiosity without expectation, and for the simple joy of setting myself a challenge whose outcome I could not predict. That sense of play may well be the most valuable work produced during this residency.
@knaut_contemporary @wobblywonkyathomeartresidency
#ArtistResidency #ContemporaryArt #StudioPractice #Sculpture #ProcessOverProduct
WOBBLY WONKY at home
ART RESIDENCY
14 days… work! work! work.
Day 13
Today began outside the studio.
I found myself, once again, climbing headfirst into a construction waste container in search of overlooked materials. It is one of my favourite parts of this process—not only because of the unexpected discoveries, but because of the expressions on the builders’ faces when they realise that someone is deliberately stopping to rescue fragments they had already dismissed. What is considered waste in one context can suddenly become possibility in another. Value, after all, is often a matter of perspective.
Back in the studio, today was dedicated to the final refinements. Small adjustments, subtle shifts, decisions about balance, proportion and tension. It is remarkable how the smallest intervention can transform the character of an object. I also began photographing each individual work in preparation for tomorrow’s final studio presentation—a private exhibition without visitors, created exclusively for all of you who have accompanied me throughout this residency.
As the project approaches its conclusion, I notice a certain melancholy. Tomorrow will already be the final day.
At the same time, I know how much I am looking forward to returning to the canvas. These two weeks have not replaced painting; they have renewed my relationship with it. Stepping away from one medium has allowed me to understand it more clearly. Sculpture has challenged my habits, slowed my thinking, and reminded me that every artistic language reveals something the others cannot.
Above all, what remains is gratitude. Gratitude for nearly two weeks of uninterrupted experimentation, for the freedom to follow curiosity without expectation, and for the simple joy of setting myself a challenge whose outcome I could not predict. That sense of play may well be the most valuable work produced during this residency.
@knaut_contemporary @wobblywonkyathomeartresidency
#ArtistResidency #ContemporaryArt #StudioPractice #Sculpture #ProcessOverProduct
WOBBLY WONKY at home
ART RESIDENCY
14 days… work! work! work.
Day 12
Today the studio shifts to a different place.
No cutting, assembling or gluing today. Instead, I am working from home—reading, researching, revisiting notes and reflecting on the conversations from my two studio visits with Marc Sparfel and Denise Treizman. Sometimes stepping away from the work is part of the work itself. Distance creates a different kind of clarity.
Over the past twelve days I have become deeply immersed in sculptural thinking. Working with cardboard, Styrodur, plaster, found materials and provisional constructions has slowed my process in unexpected ways. Every decision carries physical weight. Materials resist, collapse, balance one another. Form emerges through negotiation rather than intuition alone.
At the same time, this temporary departure from painting has made something equally clear: I miss the immediacy of the painted gesture. The large canvas offers a different form of thinking—one that unfolds through movement, rhythm and instinct. Sculpture asks me to construct space; painting allows me to dissolve it. Neither medium replaces the other. Instead, this residency has made their relationship more visible to me.
Tomorrow I will return to the studio for the final refinements. I already know that several of the sculptures need another intervention. They must carry more of my own visual language. At the moment they still feel slightly autonomous, as if they belong to a neighbouring practice rather than to the one I have developed over the years. That tension has become one of the most valuable discoveries of this residency: finding the point where experimentation begins to transform into authorship.
In just a few days I will finally be able to share the results.
@knaut_contemporary @wobblywonkyathomeartresidency
#ArtistResidency #ContemporaryArt #StudioPractice #Sculpture #ProvisionalStructures
WOBBLY WONKY at home
ART RESIDENCY
14 days… work! work! work.
Day 12
Today the studio shifts to a different place.
No cutting, assembling or gluing today. Instead, I am working from home—reading, researching, revisiting notes and reflecting on the conversations from my two studio visits with Marc Sparfel and Denise Treizman. Sometimes stepping away from the work is part of the work itself. Distance creates a different kind of clarity.
Over the past twelve days I have become deeply immersed in sculptural thinking. Working with cardboard, Styrodur, plaster, found materials and provisional constructions has slowed my process in unexpected ways. Every decision carries physical weight. Materials resist, collapse, balance one another. Form emerges through negotiation rather than intuition alone.
At the same time, this temporary departure from painting has made something equally clear: I miss the immediacy of the painted gesture. The large canvas offers a different form of thinking—one that unfolds through movement, rhythm and instinct. Sculpture asks me to construct space; painting allows me to dissolve it. Neither medium replaces the other. Instead, this residency has made their relationship more visible to me.
Tomorrow I will return to the studio for the final refinements. I already know that several of the sculptures need another intervention. They must carry more of my own visual language. At the moment they still feel slightly autonomous, as if they belong to a neighbouring practice rather than to the one I have developed over the years. That tension has become one of the most valuable discoveries of this residency: finding the point where experimentation begins to transform into authorship.
In just a few days I will finally be able to share the results.
@knaut_contemporary @wobblywonkyathomeartresidency
#ArtistResidency #ContemporaryArt #StudioPractice #Sculpture #ProvisionalStructures
Life and art are inseparable. The past few weeks in photographs. #art #life #artiststudio
WOBBLY WONKY at home
ART RESIDENCY
14 days… work! work! work.
Day 11…
this is me:#
Manuela Karin Knaut
@knaut_contemporary
@wobblywonkyathomeartresidency
Today, the title for the final presentation of this residency finally became clear:
Provisional Structures.
Over the past eleven days, I have been building, dismantling, breaking, cutting, balancing and rebuilding. None of these works were ever intended as finished sculptures. They emerged as temporary spatial propositions—open, fragile and constantly shifting.
From the very beginning, I wanted to establish a dialogue between these playful, intimate objects and my large-scale, equally ephemeral installations built from found materials. Although they differ significantly in scale, they share the same interest in provisionality, balance, material intuition and the temporary nature of form. Rather than representing fixed sculptures, they exist as structures that remain open to transformation.
Throughout this residency, I have repeatedly returned to the work of Phyllida Barlow, whose uncompromising approach to material and temporary sculptural environments continues to inspire me. I also found myself thinking about artists such as Thomas Hirschhorn and Monika Sosnowska, whose practices investigate architecture, instability and the expressive potential of provisional forms.
Today was also dedicated to reading, researching and reflecting. These quieter moments have become just as important as working with the materials themselves.
Another highlight was the second studio visit of this residency. This time I had the pleasure of visiting the wonderful Denise Treizman in her Miami studio. I have admired her installation-based practice for many years, and it was a privilege to exchange thoughts on sculpture, material and process.
The residency continues—and so do the structures.
#WobblyWonkyAtHome #ArtResidency #ProvisionalStructures ContemporaryArt StudioPractice
WOBBLY WONKY at home
ART RESIDENCY
14 days… work! work! work.
Day 11…
this is me:#
Manuela Karin Knaut
@knaut_contemporary
@wobblywonkyathomeartresidency
Today, the title for the final presentation of this residency finally became clear:
Provisional Structures.
Over the past eleven days, I have been building, dismantling, breaking, cutting, balancing and rebuilding. None of these works were ever intended as finished sculptures. They emerged as temporary spatial propositions—open, fragile and constantly shifting.
From the very beginning, I wanted to establish a dialogue between these playful, intimate objects and my large-scale, equally ephemeral installations built from found materials. Although they differ significantly in scale, they share the same interest in provisionality, balance, material intuition and the temporary nature of form. Rather than representing fixed sculptures, they exist as structures that remain open to transformation.
Throughout this residency, I have repeatedly returned to the work of Phyllida Barlow, whose uncompromising approach to material and temporary sculptural environments continues to inspire me. I also found myself thinking about artists such as Thomas Hirschhorn and Monika Sosnowska, whose practices investigate architecture, instability and the expressive potential of provisional forms.
Today was also dedicated to reading, researching and reflecting. These quieter moments have become just as important as working with the materials themselves.
Another highlight was the second studio visit of this residency. This time I had the pleasure of visiting the wonderful Denise Treizman in her Miami studio. I have admired her installation-based practice for many years, and it was a privilege to exchange thoughts on sculpture, material and process.
The residency continues—and so do the structures.
#WobblyWonkyAtHome #ArtResidency #ProvisionalStructures ContemporaryArt StudioPractice
WOBBLY WONKY at home
ART RESIDENCY
14 days… work! work! work.
Day 10…
this is me:
Manuela Karin Knaut
@knaut_contemporary @wobblywonkyathomeartresidency
The sculptures are growing.
I’ve been working steadily behind the scenes, refining, rebuilding, cutting things apart, and allowing each piece to find its own direction. But this time I’d rather not reveal too much just yet.
Instead of showing every step, I’d like to wait until the end of this residency and invite you to a small studio exhibition—a chance to look back at everything that has emerged over these two weeks.
So today, just a little walk through my studio. The place where ideas take shape, materials accumulate, and unexpected connections continue to appear.
See you tomorrow.
#WobblyWonkyAtHome #ArtistResidency #ContemporarySculpture #StudioProcess #ManuelaKarinKnaut
WOBBLY WONKY at home
ART RESIDENCY
14 days… work! work! work.
Day 10…
this is me:
Manuela Karin Knaut
@knaut_contemporary @wobblywonkyathomeartresidency
The sculptures are growing.
I’ve been working steadily behind the scenes, refining, rebuilding, cutting things apart, and allowing each piece to find its own direction. But this time I’d rather not reveal too much just yet.
Instead of showing every step, I’d like to wait until the end of this residency and invite you to a small studio exhibition—a chance to look back at everything that has emerged over these two weeks.
So today, just a little walk through my studio. The place where ideas take shape, materials accumulate, and unexpected connections continue to appear.
See you tomorrow.
#WobblyWonkyAtHome #ArtistResidency #ContemporarySculpture #StudioProcess #ManuelaKarinKnaut
WOBBLY WONKY at home ART RESIDENCY
14 days… work! work! work.
Day 9
This is me:
Manuela Karin Knaut
@knaut_contemporary
@wobblywonkyathomeartresidency
Today unfolded a little differently than expected.
Several long Zoom calls filled a large part of the day, all centered around exciting projects for the coming year. Even during a residency, some opportunities simply can’t be postponed.
Back in the studio, I continued working on a growing series of sculptural sketches. Styrodur, cardboard and wood remain my materials of choice at the moment. I combined them in different ways, refining, cutting, rearranging and continuously transforming the small sculptures that are slowly taking shape. I enjoy treating them as open conversations rather than finished objects.
In the evening, I visited the Open Studios at the Braunschweig University of Art (HBK Braunschweig). I discovered several exciting artistic positions and, just as importantly, had the chance to reconnect with many inspiring colleagues.
That’s also why today’s update is arriving a little later than usual.
See you tomorrow — back in the studio.
#WobblyWonkyAtHome #ArtResidency #Sculpture #StudioPractice #contemporaryart
WOBBLY WONKY at home ART RESIDENCY
14 days… work! work! work.
Day 9
This is me:
Manuela Karin Knaut
@knaut_contemporary
@wobblywonkyathomeartresidency
Today unfolded a little differently than expected.
Several long Zoom calls filled a large part of the day, all centered around exciting projects for the coming year. Even during a residency, some opportunities simply can’t be postponed.
Back in the studio, I continued working on a growing series of sculptural sketches. Styrodur, cardboard and wood remain my materials of choice at the moment. I combined them in different ways, refining, cutting, rearranging and continuously transforming the small sculptures that are slowly taking shape. I enjoy treating them as open conversations rather than finished objects.
In the evening, I visited the Open Studios at the Braunschweig University of Art (HBK Braunschweig). I discovered several exciting artistic positions and, just as importantly, had the chance to reconnect with many inspiring colleagues.
That’s also why today’s update is arriving a little later than usual.
See you tomorrow — back in the studio.
#WobblyWonkyAtHome #ArtResidency #Sculpture #StudioPractice #contemporaryart