Wolfgang Laib's childhood travels with his family to Afghanistan, India, Iran, and Turkey instilled in him a lifelong interest in non-Western cultures. Before he became an artist, he studied medicine, but concluded that the field treated the body at the expense of the soul. To Laib, art is a form of transcendent spiritual healing and sustenance. Natural materials are important to the artist, who works with beeswax, milk, pollen, and rice, creating simple forms that strive to communicate at a universal level, transcending language.
Gallery label from Against the Grain: Contemporary Art from the Edward R. Broida Collection, May 3–July 10, 2006.
