PORTFOLIO

Food is more successful than almost any other topic. On social media, staged photos of food are the images with the most likes and resonance. Food has become a global theme of design, art and fashion across all cultural disciplines. This makes it all the more exciting to present people who come up with completely new visions of food as an artistic concept. For them, it's not just about new recipes and culinary art, for them it's about a new art form that also serves social relevance. A fascinating new movement of FOOD ARTISTS has emerged at the interface of art, design and science, which also incorporates socially relevant topics such as resources, waste and social responsibility.

This three-part series follows the work of three visionary designers who are causing a sensation as FOOD ARTISTS. They transform resource-conscious products into aesthetic culinary delights, build sculptures out of food, create opulent metre-long banquets to eat up, ensure that nothing is wasted and reinvent the tradition of baking. Driven by the goal of transforming our relationship with food and combining it with the highest sensual and artistic standards. On display are artists who see food as a material for aesthetic and sensual experiences, who handle colours and textures as if they were in front of a canvas. In the end, even the smallest dishes on a plate are a work of art in their own right.

The philosophical superstructure of the series lies in the realisation that major social transformations must not only be technical, but also cultural and aesthetic in nature. The artists portrayed act as ‘translators’ between scientific knowledge and sensual experience, abstract future scenarios and concrete experience.

Sonja Allhäuser (Berlin)

Sonja Alhäuser creates ephemeral ‘edible art’ from materials such as chocolate or butter, whereby the shared experience and consumption is a central component of her works. Themes such as abundance or ephemerality are central in her creative approach which is also influenced by her artistic training and personal experience with food culture.

Julie Rothhahn (Paris)

Julie combines fine art and culinary art to tell stories through food. Inspired by theatre, nature and art, she works with top chefs on visionary installations. Her projects use innovative materials such as hydroponic vegetables and emphasise the connection between space, light and atmosphere.

Sophia Stolz (Vienna)

Cake artist Sophia Stolz sees cakes as individual, sustainable works of art. Her passion for baking arose from her experiences with eating disorders, and today she also creates fake cakes made of ceramic or epoxy to avoid food waste. Her works appear at international events and highlight cultural differences in taste and aesthetics.