Sculpture Network International Forum Examines the Transformation of the Human Figure in Contemporary Sculpture

Between October 29 and 31, 2026, Berlin will transform into a dynamic meeting point bringing together artists, curators, collectors, and academics. This year, the international symposium, organized for the 16th time under the title “Bodytalk – The Return of the Human Figure in Contemporary Sculpture,” discusses the powerful role that figurative expression has regained in today’s art. Organized by the Sculpture Network since 2005, the forum stands as one of Europe’s most prestigious events focusing on the art of sculpture.

Curated by Anne Berk and Anemone Vostell, this year’s edition centers on the approach of “conceptual figuration.” Artists read crucial issues such as identity, love, power, technology, and the human-nature relationship through this lens. Following World War II, the human figure was almost completely erased from Western art because it was intensely used as a propaganda tool by the Nazi and Soviet regimes. However, spearheaded by visionary artists like Stephan Balkenhol, the figurative approach was liberated from being an ideological imposition and brought back to life as an interrogative form of expression. Rather than erecting heroic monuments, today’s figurative sculptures prefer to establish an equal-level dialogue with the viewer.

Day 1: Historical Layers and Opening

The forum will open its doors on the evening of October 29 at Kunsthaus Dahlem in Berlin. Participants will have the opportunity to explore its layered past, stretching from Arno Breker’s former sculptor’s studio to a museum of postwar modernism. The exhibition presentation by museum director Dr. Dorothea Schöne and the opening cocktail will be the first step of the intensive three-day discussion program.

Day 2: Theory, Body Politics, and Collector’s Vision

The forum’s Friday program, which will take place at PalaisPopulaire, will witness presentations by international experts. Speakers include Anna Mustonen, Chief Curator at Kiasma Helsinki and curator of the Nordic Pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale.

Additionally, artists Agnes Questionmark and Anne Wenzel, who radically shake the perception of the body, will share their work:

• Agnes Questionmark: Pushing the human body and its audience into spaces beyond normative boundaries, she questions the biopolitical reflections of transsexual and trans-species bodies in a human-centric world.

• Anne Wenzel: Drawing sustenance from classical sculpture codes, she delves into themes such as power, violence, and the struggle for equality by working in an extremely harsh language with a fragile, delicate, and living material like clay.

In a new section added to the forum this year, the collectors’ perspective is brought to the table. Teresa Calbo (Spain) and Kateřina Havrlant (Czechia) will discuss the motivations behind collecting figurative sculpture and the role of female collectors in shaping visibility within the art scene.

Day 3: Industrial Heritage and Studio Discoveries

The final day of the forum will take participants to Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart. Museum directors Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath will invite 100 special guests from all over Europe to tour the “Endless Exhibition” and the sculpture park, alongside exhibitions organized specifically for the museum’s 30th anniversary. Within this scope, the exhibition titled “Matter of Care, Care of Matter” by the Leipzig-based sculptor collective [materialistin] will also be visited.

The three-day conference will conclude with a private tour of the historical Noack Foundry on the banks of the Spree River. While touring the foundry room, engraving workshop, and contemporary art gallery, participants will also have the chance to visit the workspace of Russian-German sculptor Anna Bogouchevskaia, whose studio is located within the complex. The event will culminate with a dinner at the adjacent French restaurant, Bar Brasse.

• Event: XVI. International Forum: Bodytalk – The Return of the Human Figure in Contemporary Sculpture

• Dates: October 29 – 31, 2026

• Website: sculpture-network.org