Stefan Rinck

Stefan Rinck is a Berlin-based sculptor whose figurative stone carvings draw on mythology, folklore, religion, and popular culture. Trained first as a stonemason's apprentice in Zweibrücken (1993–1995), he went on to study Art History and Philosophy at Universität des Saarlandes before completing his sculpture studies at the State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe under Stephan Balkenhol (1996–2000).

Working exclusively with traditional tools and the direct carving method, Rinck creates a bestiary of characters, animals, monsters, and hybrid creatures endowed with cultural symbols and historical attributes. His sources range from French Romanesque sculpture to video games and comics, placing ancient archetypes in a decidedly contemporary context. Art theorist Bazon Brock has noted that Rinck maintains an independent sculptural language while channelling collective cultural fantasies through figurative form.

His work has been shown at major institutions including the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, the Musée d’Art Contemporain de Marseille, and the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, where his large-scale installation The Return of the Alpine Clan occupied the Rotunda in 2025–2026. Public collections holding his work include the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München, FRAC Corsica, FRAC Normandie, and the Centrum Beeldende Kunst Rotterdam. He was featured in the Thames & Hudson publication 100 Sculptors of Tomorrow (2019).