Christiane Erdmann was born in Bonn in 1950 and grew up in Istanbul and Berlin. She learned ceramics and sculpture at Werkkunstschule Wiesbaden, a college of applied arts. For three years she lived and worked in Rome, where she concentrated on photography and ceramics. On returning to Wiesbaden, she worked as a stage designer for the Nationaltheater Mannheim, the Staatstheater Wiesbaden and the Pariser Hoftheater Wiesbaden.
Christiane Erdmann’s sculptures, which she fashions out of large blocks of wood, are crafted in a studio belonging to an artists’ association that she co-initiated: Künstlerverein Walkmühle in Wiesbaden. Various delicate and simultaneously dynamic figures are carved out of massive wooden logs in a complicated process of work stages.
In particular, the multifaceted animal kingdom provides the artist with subjects for her works, which sometimes appear singly or also in entire packs. Furthermore, the female figure also appears again and again as a motif in her creative work. However, it is never an anatomically ideally shaped body which piques the artist’s interest. On the contrary, she individualises a type of woman that cannot be categorised, that shows weakness, but also appears self-assured and strong at the same time.
In addition to fauna, in her most recent work she focuses her attention on diverse presentations of scenes that are usually dominated by a female figure as a protagonist. They capture elements of movement – just like her animal sculptures. Entirely in line with wood as a natural material, the attributes of movement and rigidity correspond and compete equally in her sculptures.
The works of Christiane Erdmann have already been displayed in numerous solo and group exhibitions and can be found in many public as well as private collections. Together with the artist Trash/Treasure, Christiane Erdmann was awarded the 2009 prize of the Sculpture Park in Mörfelden-Walldorf.