The Gaze Behind Glass
The Gaze Behind Glass is part of Klaus Wiechenthaler’s ongoing series of glass sculptures, created in close collaboration with Helena Bednorz’s charcoal portraits and Peter Wiechenthaler’s sculptural glass constructions.
Measuring 52 × 52 × 8 cm, this square wall object features a striking layered composition. A powerful charcoal drawing of a man’s face — characterized by intense eyes behind glasses and a distinctive mustache — is enclosed within a substantial, translucent green glass frame. Multiple sheets of finely ribbed glass overlay the portrait, producing a rhythmic pattern of horizontal lines that traverse the face.
The glass layers create a dynamic visual experience. Depending on the viewer’s position, the portrait appears to shift and vibrate. Features sharpen and soften, emerge and recede, as light refracts through the textured surfaces. The once-familiar face becomes elusive, fragmented, and almost cinematic in its movement.
In this work, the glass is an active participant rather than a passive cover. It distorts, multiplies, and interrupts the gaze, mirroring the complexity of human identity and the filters through which we perceive others. What seems direct at first glance reveals itself as layered, mediated, and constantly changing.
The Gaze Behind Glass invites quiet contemplation on themes of recognition, memory, and the boundaries between observer and observed. With its subtle depth and optical play, it transforms a static portrait into a living, breathing presence that changes with every step the viewer takes.
A contemplative and technically refined piece that continues the artist’s exploration of perception and the intangible nature of identity.
