This sculpture belongs to an evolving series of character-based works that Anna Riess began in 2019. Varying in size, material, and expression, each figure explores the shifting terrain of identity through sculptural presence. The first in the series was titled Mr. Authority, setting the tone for Riess’s ongoing exploration of the human face as a site of recognition, ambiguity, and projection.

As a super-recognizer, Riess brings an instinctive sensitivity to facial structure and proportion. Faces emerge intuitively through her hands—evoking questions about character, self-image, and the performative nature of identity. Some works feature two faces, front and back, suggesting multiplicity, duality, or the impossibility of full recognition.

While color plays a secondary role in this body of work, it functions as a quiet counterpoint—used not for realism but as a playful nod to the faded pigments of ancient Greek statuary. Spiral forms appear in several pieces, alluding to classical ornamentation while also referencing deeper symbolic meanings: continuity, evolution, and the eternal return. In this way, the series flirts with mythology and archetype, grounding personal inquiry in timeless visual language.

Anna Riess is a multidisciplinary artist and cultural anthropologist based in Vienna. Her work explores themes of embodiment, emotion, and interbodily relations through materials like clay, metal, and textiles. Deeply influenced by her experience of motherhood, she transforms everyday objects into symbolic forms - one of her gestures she describes as the “nippelization of the everyday.”

Riess is the co-founder of the Clayground retreat and the creator of Circle of Clay, a workshop series she has led at institutions such as the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna or the Hotel Kai36 in Graz. Her workshops invite participants—regardless of prior experience—to develop their own sculptural language through hands-on engagement with clay.

Her sculptural objects possess a strong visual identity and tactile presence, marked by a recognizable aesthetic and a willingness to push the boundaries of material behavior. Especially drawn to the tactility of clay, Riess explores how movement and fluidity can be captured in form—leaving the trace of the hand visible in its hardened state. With a strong interest in local materials and interdisciplinary exchange, her practice bridges artistic, social, and ecological concerns in both conceptual and applied ways.