David Utermann
David Utermann was born on August 21, 1967 on the African continent where he spent his early childhood. Returning to Switzerland a few years later, he studied law and sport at the University of Neuchâtel; he subsequently became a professor of law and economics, as well as physical education. Having a close interest in the destiny of human beings, he is training as a mediator specializing in the educational field in particular. He currently works part-time as a teacher and mediator in a vocational school. Married and father of three children, he has been passionate about sculpture using the direct carving method for around ten years as an autodidact and has already participated in several exhibitions in galleries in French-speaking Switzerland.
“A teacher by training, David Utermann has been practicing sculpture for several years now. In 1998, he successfully participated in the Competition for Young Neuchâtel Artists. He also led off-site weeks in certain schools. His favorite material is syporex, because the artist considers it to be a living material. Her favorite shapes: harmonious curves, which attract the hand for a caress. As for the subjects discussed, they mainly revolve around humans: man, woman or both together. To be, to live, to create. Become creators. For this creator, this means that everyone must become a creator in whatever field. That we shouldn’t just exist for the sake of existing.
Being, living, creating: Becoming creators. Through this concept, I want to make contact with human beings, whoever they may be, with the aim of telling them that they are also, in their own way, potential creators. To become creators is to achieve a certain fullness. The object created does not matter, only the philosophical approach and its impact on the person creating is important. The desire to create should be fundamental in every human being, regardless of their social, personal or economic situation. There are different stages in the creative process; the desire to create, then the realization with its share of feelings of fear, hope and doubts. And, ultimately, the result, giving life. Managing to create an object, to realize it, to understand that we are capable of doing it, brings to each creator a feeling of fullness and the embryo of a feeling of existing and living fully. I want, through sculpture, to show people that they should not just be, but to make them realize that they have the capacity to become creators. Sculpture represents for me an interesting means of expression and communication to transmit this philosophy of life. It is a passion, an absolute need to create, but to create something that has meaning, and to share my research and my thoughts. In no case do I wish to take refuge in an art inaccessible to ordinary mortals, supposedly only affecting an intellectual and scholarly elite. Giving meaning to sculpture by socializing it is a challenge that fascinates me. I want to have an artistic career, to make a living from it, but above all I want to be able to share and explain the works that I am lucky enough to be able to create, in order to help my human brothers and sisters grow. I may be seen as a naive idealist. Maybe that’s the case. However, I firmly believe that every human being has great potential, the key is simply to make them aware of it. And to achieve this goal, sculpture is an ideal tool. Being, living, creating: Becoming creators. Through this concept, I want to make contact with human beings, whoever they may be, with the aim of telling them that they are also, in their own way, potential creators. To become creators is to achieve a certain fullness. The object created does not matter, only the philosophical approach and its impact on the person creating is important. The desire to create should be fundamental in every human being, regardless of their social, personal or economic situation. There are different stages in the creative process; the desire to create, then the realization with its share of feelings of fear, hope and doubts. And, ultimately, the result, giving life. Managing to create an object, to realize it, to understand that we are capable of doing it, brings to each creator a feeling of fullness and the embryo of a feeling of existing and living fully. I want, through sculpture, to show people that they should not just be, but to make them realize that they have the capacity to become creators.
Sculpture represents for me an interesting means of expression and communication to transmit this philosophy of life. It is a passion, an absolute need to create, but to create something that has meaning, and to share my research and my thoughts. In no case do I wish to take refuge in an art inaccessible to ordinary mortals, supposedly only affecting an intellectual and scholarly elite. Giving meaning to sculpture by socializing it is a challenge that fascinates me. I want to have an artistic career, to make a living from it, but above all I want to be able to share and explain the works that I am lucky enough to be able to create, in order to help my human brothers and sisters grow. I may be seen as a naive idealist. Maybe that’s the case. However, I firmly believe that every human being has great potential, the key is simply to make them aware of it. And to achieve this goal, sculpture is an ideal tool.
- 21/06/2024
