20 Years of Sculpture Network: Christian H. Friederichs

As part of our 20th anniversary, we’re highlighting important members of the Sculpture Network community. Christian H. Friederichs has been a member for over ten years and is someone who has given just as much to the network as he has received. Through artistic engagement, organizational commitment, and an enduring belief in exchange as a driving force for sculptural practice.

More than twenty years ago, Christian H. Friederichs began working with classical subtractive sculpture, carving stone and wood using traditional techniques. His early practice was rooted in material, craft, and form. Since becoming involved with Sculpture Network, however, his understanding of contemporary sculpture has expanded significantly. Exposure to new artistic positions, methods, and discourses encouraged him to pursue his own artistic path more consistently, while remaining open to experimentation and dialogue.  

Friederichs first became involved through the Sculpture Network StArt events. These gatherings offered a space for presenting new works, exchanging ideas, and discussing themes, techniques, and processes with fellow sculptors. Over the years, he participated in numerous StArt events across Germany, as well as his first Dialogue in 2017. These experiences strengthened his confidence in presenting his work and engaging critically with others.

“Encounters with other sculptors have consistently encouraged me to think further, directly influencing my creative process,” said Friederichs.

Giving Back to the Sculpture Network Community

Friederichs is someone who has given just as much to the network as he has received. From 2021 to 2023 he served on the Sculpture Network board. With a background in finance and accounting his professional expertise has allowed Sculpture Network to continue to grow and flourish in order to support members such as Friederichs.

Alongside his organizational engagement, Friederichs’ artistic practice continued to evolve. Participation in international forums, dialogues, and Sculpture Network live events deepened his interest in spatial perception and the social dimension of sculpture. His works increasingly explore the relationship between individual development and collective responsibility, often addressing themes such as freedom, identity, power, and coexistence.

A key milestone in this development was his involvement in the Art moves Europe project United in Diversity, in which multiple sculptors worked sequentially on a single stone. The project raised fundamental artistic questions about authorship, collaboration, and the willingness to relinquish individual control in favor of a shared whole. These questions continue to resonate throughout Friederichs’ practice.

His large-scale public sculpture Degrees of Freedom, completed in 2023, exemplifies this trajectory. Installed in his hometown of Oberderdingen, the work stages a spatial dialogue between individual freedom and freedom within society, using stone and steel to articulate balance, tension, and connection. Developed from a small-scale model into a monumental public sculpture, the project also reflects Friederichs’ growing engagement with public space, civic processes, and the responsibilities that come with working beyond the white cube.

Personal encounters remain central to Friederichs’ artistic development. Through Sculpture Network, he has met and exchanged with more than one hundred sculptors across Europe, forging friendships and long-term collaborations.

Christian H. Friederichs’ journey within Sculpture Network exemplifies how sustained engagement and openness to exchange can shape both artistic practice and community. As Sculpture Network celebrates its 20th anniversary, his story stands as a reminder that sculpture is not only formed through material and space, but also through dialogue, collaboration, and shared vision.