Artist spotlight: Daniela Trinkl

Daniela Trinkl is fascinated by boxes. For the Viennese-based ceramicist, this interest extends to boxes of any kind, but is heightened by reliquary shrines. She is interested in science fiction, animism and bringing life to inanimate entities. Daniela not only finds the craftmanship of these objects remarkable, but also the spiritual value that people assign to them. She firmly believes that there is a 5th incorporeal dimension that is present in every art piece, but is not yet directly observable.

In Daniela’s PILOTENKUECHE atelier I find almost embryo like shaped objects. They stand alone or are exhibited on the wall. And true to form, some can be found in liquid filled boxes, some submerged in a synthetic pink hued silicone and others in milky epoxy resin. It almost looks like a laboratory of a modern-day alchemist, where these creatures will soon come to life. 

To give birth to these objects Daniela plays with common natural materials such as clay and porcelain, as well as with man-made ones, bringing Sci-fi aesthetics to the table. Contrary to reliquary shrines that carry memories from past lives, her creations might come from the future. One could say that they are living beings, but from a different world, perhaps like ambassadors of the 5th dimension.

Photos by PILOTENKÜCHE International Art

Her working approach is very organic, she starts by simply doing, thus inviting a flow of ideas and letting herself be guided and carried. She also mentions that the shape of an object does not always come in a visual form, it is almost as she can feel it within herself. It arrives from within, yet from somewhere outside. In her eyes, the artist functions almost as a medium, bringing something celestial to the world. In a way every art piece embodies an element, or a message hidden in a plain sight.  

Daniela stresses the importance of symbiosis between an art piece and its consumers. In fact, the interaction with the audience is the most interesting part for her, regardless the reaction or an absence thereof.

written by Agnes Deruma

photos courtesy of artist


We invite you to find more about her art and past work by visiting Daniela’s website or if you are in Leipzig this weekend feel free to drop by PILOTENKUECHE for the PK Open studio event to interact with her creations in person.

PK Open Studios / Designers Open Spot

Sat 26 Oct
2PM-9PM: open studio
4PM-6.30PM: BYOB potluck
7.30PM: performance Izabela Kałduńska

Sun 27 Oct
2PM-9PM: open studio

PILOTENKEUCHE, Franz-Flemming-Straße 9, 04179 Leipzig

Reset unsettling flesh layers / vernissage / PK at AHS

Friday, 15. November 2019
19:00 bis 22:00

Alte Handelsschule, Gießerstraße 75, Kleinzschocher, 04229 Leipzig, Deutschland

Overwhelmed incorporeal happiness / vernissage / PK RD41

Saturday, 14. December 2019
19:00 – 22:00

PILOTENKEUCHE, Franz-Flemming-Straße 9, 04179 Leipzig