Mr. Marble with Piercing (2024) is a ceramic portrait full of presence and personality. Shaped from richly marbled clay, the piece fuses playful figuration with subtle psychological depth. With oversized ears—sculptural and alert—and a single metal piercing, the object becomes both character and conversation starter, inviting us to reflect on how identity is shaped through gesture, adornment, and expression.

The marbled surface, swirling with natural tones, adds a sense of movement and complexity to the otherwise still form—like emotion just beneath the skin. The ears feel exaggerated, attentive, as if listening intently. The piercing adds a contemporary, humanizing detail: a small act of self-definition, a mark of individuality.

As with much of Anna Riess’s work, Mr. Marble with Piercing blurs the boundary between object and persona. It’s a study in mimicry, expression, and how we construct—and are perceived through—small, intentional details. Part sculpture, part silent companion, the piece feels both humorous and quietly sincere, reflecting on identity as something seen, performed, and continually reimagined.

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.