Joachim
Seitfudem

“Art is like a disease. You carry it within you, and at some point it breaks out of you.”

Born into a family of artists, Joachim Seitfudem grew up surrounded by sculpture and painting. His father, Hans-Joachim Seitfudem, is a sculptor; his mother was a painter. Although art was present from the beginning, Seitfudem did not initially seek the artistic path. For years, he tried to distance himself from it — until sculpture became impossible to avoid.

His works are deeply personal. They transform lived experience, memory, inner conflict and existential questions into sculptural form. Themes such as freedom, mortality, vulnerability, distance and human longing appear throughout his practice, not as illustration, but as emotional and physical presence.

Difficult biographical experiences, including the death of his mother and a period of imprisonment in his youth, fundamentally changed his understanding of time, freedom and death. Looking back, Seitfudem describes these experiences as a turning point — a moment through which he discovered the true potential of his artistic voice.

His sculpture Distanz, created during the first coronavirus pandemic, reflects this search for closeness and separation. The work speaks of a universal human desire: regardless of origin, status or biography, every person longs for connection, touch and belonging.

“I do what I like, what I have not seen before. I do not care whether others like it. What matters is that the work engages the viewer — positively or negatively.”

Today, Seitfudem’s works have been exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide and have received numerous awards. His sculptures combine traditional craftsmanship with a contemporary language, creating works that are not simply viewed, but experienced.