Arnold Holzknecht (Val Gardena, Italy, 1960) is an Italian artist who lives and works in Ortisei, South Tyrol. Trained at the woodcarving school in Val Gardena, Holzknecht developed a deep sensitivity towards the mostly organic materials he uses in his works: wood, beeswax and disused beehives, which he sometimes also combines with materials such as plaster or iron. Fascinated by the rural culture and its aesthetic forms, the artist explores the ways in which human beings relate to the earth, forests, birds and bees. Holzknecht is curious, he observes, interacts with and learns from nature, underlining the relationship of interdependence between man and nature. Through his works, he reminds us that living in an ecosystem means being in a flow of exchanges between mutually equal subjects.

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