ABOUT

Vinko Nino Jaeger

is an artist working primarily in wood.

His practice explores the dialogue between human history and nature as embodied within the material of the tree. Through carving and surface transformation, he creates sculptural works that balance presence and restraint, density and stillness.

Material, proportion, and surface are central to his approach, with each work emerging through direct engagement with the physical resistance and memory of the wood.

Working from his studio in Lower Austria, Vinko Nino Jaeger produces unique pieces and limited editions that are signed and numbered. Selected works are available in Vienna.

The practice of Vinko Nino Jaeger is rooted primarily in sculpture, with a focus on hand-carved wooden objects that explore the tension between figuration and abstraction, body and archetype, stillness and transformation.

Working predominantly with regional and reclaimed woods, each sculpture is shaped through direct carving. Traditional surface techniques such as Yakisugi and shellac finishing are employed to deepen the material's tactile and visual presence, revealing traces of growth, time, and elemental force. Many works exist as unique pieces or in very small editions, conceived as autonomous sculptural bodies rather than functional objects.

The sculptural work is understood as a form of sculptural writing — a process in which carving becomes a physical mode of inscription. Rather than representation alone, the practice is driven by an inner expression that takes form through material. This inner articulation manifests in both abstract sculptures and animal figures, where bodily gesture, reduction, and symbolic presence converge.

Through the use of hand tools, the artist remains in close physical dialogue with the wood. The body participates directly in the shaping process and in the formation of the surface. In this exchange, the body communicates with the material and inscribes itself into it. Art historian Vojtěch Volavka described this process as sculptural handwriting — a corporeal trace embedded within form. In this way, unique pieces emerge: objects that appear less as designed artefacts and more as individuals entering into relation with their counterpart.

Alongside the sculptural work, seating objects emerge as an extension of this exploration — translating sculptural thinking into the realm of use. These pieces oscillate between studio furniture and collectible design while maintaining the formal and material language of the sculptures. Conceived as embodied sculptures and participatory objects, they are not complete forms in isolation but relational works that reach their full presence through human interaction. The act of sitting activates the work as an activated form: the body becomes part of the sculptural composition, temporarily completing the object and entering into dialogue with it.

Writing and photography accompany the practice as parallel forms of research and reflection. In the publication Holzskulpturen selbst gemacht. Notizen zum schreibenden Körper, carving, body, and process are examined through a hybrid form of manual, essay, and artistic notation. Photography holds an equally central role, documenting surfaces, gestures, and material states while functioning as an independent visual practice.

The works are conceived as quiet, enduring presences — situated between sculpture, craft, and contemporary material discourse.

Writing and photography accompany the practice as parallel forms of research and reflection. In the publication Holzskulpturen selbst gemacht. Notizen zum schreibenden Körper, carving, body, and process are examined through a hybrid form of manual, essay, and artistic notation. Photography holds an equally central role, documenting surfaces, gestures, and material states while functioning as an independent visual practice.

€ 29.-

Copies of the book can be acquired directly via the studio.