This flat ceramic face, designed to hang gracefully on the wall, is a contemplative exploration of identity, presence, and ritual. With serene green eyes, soft rosy lips, and delicate golden earrings, the marbled piece balances portraiture with abstraction, inviting quiet reflection.

Two sculpted handles frame the work, allowing it to be suspended like a modern mask. A small opening in the mouth offers a dedicated space for an incense stick—an anchor for intention and mindfulness—while the surrounding surface can hold candles or small objects, inviting daily ritual and personal engagement.

Through this intimate fusion of form and function, Riess transforms the face into more than an artwork: a vessel for presence, care, and the ongoing negotiation of self.

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 Claygroundretreat 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.