Interview
Gerhard Petzl
Born in Graz, Austria, Gerhard is a visual artist who works with bronze, stone, wood, mixed media, and chocolate. He doesn’t limit himself to any medium, technique or shape.
Gerhard sails between 2D visuals and 3D sculptures, often ending up in the field of science.
Gerhard is a pioneer in using chocolate crystals as an art form and as naturally grown design elements. He’s a publisher of 3 chocolate art books and has received over 21 awards.
He has over 250 publications on TV, magazines and newspapers around the globe, and numerous gold medals.
Gerhard currently lives and works in Vevey, Switzerland and Kalsdorf/Graz, Austria.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“In kindergarten, I loved drawing, and would do so for hours. I worked for over 20 years for some of the best establishments worldwide as a Pastry Chef, during which time I created lots of showpieces and customized special orders for clients. In private, I specialized in carving chocolate sculptures out of a solid block and was even voted the ‘Master Chocolatier of the year’ in New York City. So I can say that my first 100 or so artworks were edible because of my professional background that time! Today, I’m also a trained sculptor and combine the different fields of expertise to create unique artworks.
I decided to dig a little deeper into the art world, taking a break from the pastry industry in order to study art & design-section sculpting. I attended masterclasses on this, which I completed successfully in 2005. Since then, I’ve been creating sculptures in bronze, stone, wood, mixed media, and lately even digital art and photography with my Mirrored world Editions.
After establishing chocolate crystals as an art medium, I’ve used them in lifestyle products, furniture, and with my planet series for gallery wall artworks.”
What inspires you?
“Everything and everyone inspires me—different cultures, places, odors, and flavors. The physical world amazes me again and again.
If you don’t find inspiration in anything, maybe all you need to do is look a bit closer, maybe even using a microscope. If you take a closer look, you’ll open the door to a new universe and discover a world of miracles.”
“One of my fundamental goals is to create ‘harmonious beauty’.
Even though the sculpture or installation may look chaotic with thousands of elements integrated in it, I try to arrange it in a way that at the end, a harmonious result emerges.
Getting this harmony can take hours, weeks, or even longer.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
"My works follow a number of themes. Science is key as a lot of topics usually require scientific research. My works are typically abstract, with the object reduced to almost a linear and light appearance. Other times I do the total opposite, creating a heavy, clumsy, cubism-styled sculpture, where shadows of the objects are also considered or are even the main object of desire.
For two years now, I’ve been exploring mirrored images and the new formation of sculptural appearances and structure or color games. It could be images from a natural environment, or an existing sculpture from a museum which becomes mirrored into a new sculpture, sometimes taking on new meaning.
For my Master’s exam at art school, I explored the theme of life and death by combining a human-shaped bronze sculpture with a chocolate outside (shown above). This was a beautiful way of sharing a time-lapse version of our human flesh, represented by the chocolate, and our longer-lasting core which remains for thousands of years, represented by the bronze bronze. You can get to read more about this on my website.”
How would you describe your work?
“My work is abstract, harmonious, elegant, surprising, scientific, timeless, and conceptual.
It’s often commissioned, and therefore personalized. It makes people smile or wonder. And it’s sweet, especially the chocolate pieces!”
Which artists influence you most?
“I’m trying not be influenced by any specific artist as I’d like to find my own style and shapes.
I like Picasso a lot for his craziness and his freedom of exploration. In terms of abstract sculptures, I love Tony Cragg. He has a very cool style and uses appealing shapes and colors. I consider his sculptures timeless. I also like the humor found in Erwin Wurm’s sculptures, and he’s Austrian like me.”
What is your creative process like?
“My process depends on the season, subject, size, medium, and more. In most cases, it happens out of the blue. I wake up in the morning and I continue with an ongoing project, or start working on a new idea that’s just come to mind. Or if the weather is great, I decide to use my chainsaw to work on a wooden sculpture. My philosophy is very much to go with the flow.
Of course, when working on a commissioned sculpture, I aim to get it done within the timeline, and exclude all other things in order to focus on my priorities.
Notably, I only create the chocolate sculptors between October and June, as I’d rather not work on them during summer months.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“An artist’s role is to be a mirror of society; to find your white spot in order to share your message with the world. But the artist also has a responsibility to also be a time-space capsule, and to willingly trap their audience in their world for a second—or a lifetime.
Beyond the fast pace of social media and the speed of information flow, we need a space where time stops for a moment; a space where you can enjoy the beauty of the object and live in the moment. From this perspective, art is zen, at least for me.
As far as the evolution of art is involved, NFTs and AI-supported creations are changing the artist’s world with regard to how and where artworks are shown and created. You can be part of a new fluid transformation to use new tools, or in total contrast, you can insist on the purity of art by declining these technologies completely. It’s up to the artist to choose which direction they want to go in. I personally think that whoever declines challenges will naturally slow down in the competitive and fast-evolving world of art.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“Between January and March of this year, I’ve already been part of 8 exhibitions in the U.S. and Europe. My personal favorite exhibition was the ‘Royal Feast baroque table’ held at the Gallery at the Harbour in the luxury shopping mall, Harbour City, Hong Kong. It was a 5-meter long table with more than 2,500 pieces on it assembled in one opulent dinner-styled buffet setup. All the items were made out of 100% chocolate. It took more than 6 months of pre-preparation work.
At that time, I lived in Australia and we were experiencing the heatwave of the decade. Therefore, my exhibit was flown out on an express flight overnight to Hong Kong. My team and I then assembled all the pieces within one week (and probably 90 hours of working time), into one giant masterpiece. You can see the whole behind-the-scene setup here.”
