Ulrich Rückriem, born in 1938 in Düsseldorf, is one of the most important contemporary sculptors. He developed his technical skills while copying and restoring gothic sculpture in the Cathedral of Cologne. He became thoroughly acquainted with the possibilities of stone as a material but also became convinced that the pure imitation of things would not satisfy his artistic ambition. In his works the artist uses different techniques of cutting stone. All sculptures are objects of extremely high formal tension. Rückriem reduces his works to simple and basic forms. With his sculptures he tries to convince the viewer to look more carefully, although at first sight there may be very little to see. The natural surface of the stone and the form given to it by the artist express a confrontation and a symbiosis between man and nature. The artist leaves his signature on the eternal and historical material of stone. The process of creation changes the history of the stone while preserving the totality of the object.