Georg Nothelfer Gallery shows Mahdad Alizadeh at Art Cologne 2025

The Berlin-based Georg Nothelfer Gallery is dedicating this year's sculpture highlight at Art Cologne to Iranian artist Mahdad Alizadeh. His works, made of fired and partly glazed clay, combine intuition, craftsmanship, and an unmistakable connection to the earth. His sculpture Businessman in particular attracts attention—a work that reinterprets proximity, material awareness, and cultural perspective.

Mahdad Alizadeh—clay, intuition, and cultural roots

Mahdad Alizadeh, born in Tehran and educated in Germany, works with a sensual yet controlled formal language. For him, clay is not just a material, but an expression of a deep understanding of earth and origin. His figures, often placed on the floor, appear deliberately grounded, contrasting with the European tradition of elevating sculptures on pedestals. This proximity to the ground gives his works a physical presence that combines spiritual and cultural aspects. It reflects an attitude that arises both from his closeness to nature and from a conscious break with the hierarchies of Western art presentation.

Sculpture “Businessman” is a balance between form and dissolution

With Businessman, Alizadeh presents a small figure whose face moves between representation and abstraction. The contours seem to blur, as if the figure wants to leave the fixed framework of the representation. The artist plays with this ambivalence—between control and intuition, structure and dissolution. The work does not stand on a pedestal, but directly on the floor. This conscious decision dissolves the traditional relationship between the work and the viewer. The Businessman meets the audience at eye level—a break with familiar hierarchies and an indication of equality between art, space, and viewer.

Material and attitude – the pedestal as part of the sculpture

Characteristic of Alizadeh's work is the integration of simple materials such as wood and metal, which often originate from craft environments. The pedestal is thus understood not as a support, but as an integral part of the artwork. It loses its serving function and becomes an expression of grounding and equality. The raw surface, the visible traces of processing, and the fragility of the fired clay create a tension between strength and vulnerability. This duality runs through Alizadeh's entire oeuvre and reveals his exploration of cultural and material boundaries.

Galerie Georg Nothelfer – Platform for sculptural positions

Galerie Georg Nothelfer, known for its keen sense of contemporary and avant-garde positions, places Alizadeh in a dialogue between tradition and the present. His work is exemplary of a younger generation of artists who are rethinking craft techniques and placing them in a global context.