Gisela Stiegler has a reflexive and bold approach to art and this is most probably what led her to navigate between disciplines throughout her career. She first worked as a photographer until she realised that the sophisticated backgrounds she created for her still lives acquired an uncanny presence and were put at the forefront of her practice. This was in 2006. Since then, the initial carved surfaces became evermore voluminous and ultimately left the wall they were stemming from. As Stiegler puts it, she slowly “ventured more and more into the room”.

She now pursues her work on lighting and texture as a sculptor. Her material of predilection, polystyrene, allows her to sculpt at a fast tempo without compromising on precision. Deceptively massive, lively and minimalist, the sculptures of Stiegler sometimes simulate a function and thus flirt with design. She lives and works in Vienna, in what she calls her “Grauzone” – the gray area where she can create without conforming to design, sculpture or photography's rules of conduct.