Steine

Steine belongs to a body of work that has occupied Dietrich Schuchardt for over five decades — a universe rooted in the cycles of decay and regeneration, where the natural world and human consciousness exist in restless conversation. Born in postwar Germany and self-taught as a printmaker, Schuchardt worked in an almost extinct tradition: engraving copper plates by hand using an antique phonograph needle, a process that could take well over 100 hours per composition, before printing and then individually hand-painting each impression in watercolor. The result is a limited edition print that is, in the strictest sense, a true original — no two are alike.

This impression, numbered 4 from an edition of 30 and signed by the artist, retains its original frame and carries the quiet patina of age — light, even toning to the sheet, the kind of warmth that only comes with time. Schuchardt, who cites Dürer, Dalí, and Max Ernst among his primary influences, brought a surrealist eye to the precision of intaglio printmaking, and Steine reflects that rare combination: meticulous draftsmanship in service of something stranger and more interior. It is a piece that rewards stillness.