Gabriela Oberkofler \\u2013 Verstrickt, 2006
Sara Fegg<\/p>
A thread\\u2014between cohesion and entanglement.<\/p>
In her woodcarving \\u201cVerstrickt\\u201d (2006), Bolzano-born artist Gabriela Oberkofler\\u2014who studied at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart from 2002 to 2009\\u2014playfully explores this ambivalence. Two carved wooden figures stand side by side, inextricably linked by a red, knitted cord. What at first glance resembles a harmless handicraft made by two knitting dolls unfolds as a multi-layered reflection on connection, the body, and the cultural meanings of closeness.<\/p>
The carving was produced in an edition of five copies plus one artist\\u2019s copy\\u2014the copy held by the MWK is numbered 1\/5+1. The small sculptural work (20 \\u00d7 13 \\u00d7 6 cm) was acquired in 2011 to mark the 60th anniversary of the state of Baden-W\\u00fcrttemberg.<\/p>
The work depicts two stylized figures, one female and one male, which also function as knitting dolls. Their heads are fitted with metal hoops, as is typical of this type of handicraft. Both bodies are hollow from the head down to the lower abdomen, and a red, knitted cord runs through this opening, connecting the figures to one another. It is striking that there is neither a ball of yarn nor a visible end of the thread. The connection between the two figures therefore appears to be inseparable. The figures\\u2019 slightly bent legs allow the cord to emerge from the lower abdomen and, at the same time, lend the depiction a subtle sense of physicality.<\/p>
Oberkofler\\u2019s work is closely linked to her early biographical experiences in a strictly Catholic, rural environment. The ambivalence of blood as both a material substance and a religiously charged vehicle of meaning recurs repeatedly in her work\\u2014for example, in the context of the Eucharist, where blood is both a real substance and a transcendent symbol. Against this backdrop, the red cord in \\u201cVerstrickt\\u201d can be interpreted as a bloodstream flowing through both bodies and existentially connecting them. The figures thus appear to be entangled not only physically but also genealogically and culturally\\u2014an interpretation that suggests associations with family, origin, or romantic relationships. At the same time, the red cord emerging from the area of the body orifices with sexual connotations creates a deliberate sense of unease, as it inevitably evokes associations with menstruation and childbirth and adds a dimension of generative, physical transmission to the connection between the figures. The craftsmanship of the carving, which evokes folk art traditions, reinforces this interpretive reading; however, Oberkofler conceptually subverts it by using the seemingly familiar to reveal its inner tensions. Whether interpreted as a parent-child relationship, a familial bloodline, or an intense bond between partners remains open to interpretation. It is precisely this ambivalence that reinforces the impression of a deeply ingrained connection running through \\u201cflesh and blood,\\u201d one that eludes clear categorization.<\/p>
\\u201cVerstrickt\\u201d is thus a quiet, precise work about connection and dependence, about the body as a conduit for meaning\\u2014and about the fragility of the threads that bind people together. \\ue000<\/span><\/p> Bibliography \\u00a0<\/p>\",\"align\":\"top\",\"row\":1,\"col\":0,\"colspan\":7,\"offsetx\":0,\"offsety\":0,\"spaceabove\":1,\"spacebelow\":0,\"yvel\":1,\"push\":0,\"relid\":2,\"absolute_position\":false,\"spaceleft\":0,\"spaceright\":0,\"spaceaboveMu\":\"%\",\"spacebelowMu\":\"%\",\"spaceleftMu\":\"%\",\"spacerightMu\":\"%\",\"syncPaddingTopBottom\":false,\"syncPaddingLeftRight\":true}],\"relid\":6,\"colspan\":7,\"col\":5,\"push\":0,\"row\":0,\"offsetx\":0,\"offsetxMu\":\"px\",\"offsety\":0,\"offsetyMu\":\"px\",\"spaceabove\":0,\"spacebelow\":0,\"spaceleft\":0,\"spaceright\":0,\"align\":\"top\",\"yvel\":1,\"absolute_position\":false}]}","phonegrid":"{\"colCount\":12,\"colGutter\":1,\"rowGutters\":[5],\"frameMargin\":5,\"topFrameMargin\":5,\"rightFrameMargin\":5,\"bottomFrameMargin\":5,\"leftFrameMargin\":5,\"mus\":{\"colGutterMu\":\"%\",\"rowGutterMu\":\"%\",\"topFrameMu\":\"%\",\"bottomFrameMu\":\"%\",\"frameMu\":\"%\"},\"rowAttrs\":[{\"relid\":5},{\"relid\":1}],\"bgColor\":null,\"bgImage\":null,\"cont\":[{\"type\":\"stack\",\"cont\":[{\"type\":\"img\",\"cont\":\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Verstrickt.jpeg\",\"align\":\"top\",\"row\":0,\"col\":0,\"colspan\":12,\"offsetx\":0,\"offsety\":0,\"spaceabove\":0,\"spacebelow\":0,\"yvel\":1,\"push\":0,\"relid\":9,\"attid\":976,\"sizes\":{\"full\":\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Verstrickt.jpeg\",\"_1280\":\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Verstrickt-1280x857.jpeg\",\"_1024\":\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Verstrickt-1024x685.jpeg\",\"_768\":\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Verstrickt-768x514.jpeg\",\"_512\":\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Verstrickt-512x343.jpeg\",\"_265\":\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Verstrickt-265x177.jpeg\"},\"w\":1524,\"h\":1020,\"ar\":0.6692913385826772,\"alt\":\"\",\"textOnElement\":{\"enabled\":false,\"topLeft\":\"\",\"topCenter\":\"\",\"topRight\":\"\",\"leftCenter\":\"\",\"centerCenter\":\"\",\"rightCenter\":\"\",\"bottomLeft\":\"\",\"bottomCenter\":\"\",\"bottomRight\":\"\",\"spaceLeftRight\":10,\"spaceLeftRightMu\":\"px\",\"spaceTopBottom\":10,\"spaceTopBottomMu\":\"px\",\"enableSpacePhone\":false,\"spaceLeftRightPhone\":10,\"spaceLeftRightPhoneMu\":\"px\",\"spaceTopBottomPhone\":10,\"spaceTopBottomPhoneMu\":\"px\",\"verticalOffsetCenter\":0,\"verticalOffsetCenterMu\":\"px\",\"verticalOffsetCenterPhone\":0,\"verticalOffsetCenterPhoneMu\":\"px\",\"darkGradientAtTop\":false,\"darkGradientAtBottom\":false,\"darkGradientAtTopColor\":\"#000000\",\"darkGradientAtBottomColor\":\"#000000\"},\"absolute_position\":false},{\"type\":\"text\",\"cont\":\" Gabriela Oberkofler \\u2013 Verstrickt, 2006 A thread\\u2014between cohesion and entanglement.<\/p> In her woodcarving \\u201cVerstrickt\\u201d (2006), Bolzano-born artist Gabriela Oberkofler\\u2014who studied at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart from 2002 to 2009\\u2014playfully explores this ambivalence. Two carved wooden figures stand side by side, inextricably linked by a red, knitted cord. What at first glance resembles a harmless handicraft made by two knitting dolls unfolds as a multi-layered reflection on connection, the body, and the cultural meanings of closeness.<\/p> The carving was produced in an edition of five copies plus one artist\\u2019s copy\\u2014the copy held by the MWK is numbered 1\/5+1. The small sculptural work (20 \\u00d7 13 \\u00d7 6 cm) was acquired in 2011 to mark the 60th anniversary of the state of Baden-W\\u00fcrttemberg.<\/p> The work depicts two stylized figures, one female and one male, which also function as knitting dolls. Their heads are fitted with metal hoops, as is typical of this type of handicraft. Both bodies are hollow from the head down to the lower abdomen, and a red, knitted cord runs through this opening, connecting the figures to one another. It is striking that there is neither a ball of yarn nor a visible end of the thread. The connection between the two figures therefore appears to be inseparable. The figures\\u2019 slightly bent legs allow the cord to emerge from the lower abdomen and, at the same time, lend the depiction a subtle sense of physicality.<\/p> Oberkofler\\u2019s work is closely linked to her early biographical experiences in a strictly Catholic, rural environment. The ambivalence of blood as both a material substance and a religiously charged vehicle of meaning recurs repeatedly in her work\\u2014for example, in the context of the Eucharist, where blood is both a real substance and a transcendent symbol. Against this backdrop, the red cord in \\u201cVerstrickt\\u201d can be interpreted as a bloodstream flowing through both bodies and existentially connecting them. The figures thus appear to be entangled not only physically but also genealogically and culturally\\u2014an interpretation that suggests associations with family, origin, or romantic relationships. At the same time, the red cord emerging from the area of the body orifices with sexual connotations creates a deliberate sense of unease, as it inevitably evokes associations with menstruation and childbirth and adds a dimension of generative, physical transmission to the connection between the figures. The craftsmanship of the carving, which evokes folk art traditions, reinforces this interpretive reading; however, Oberkofler conceptually subverts it by using the seemingly familiar to reveal its inner tensions. Whether interpreted as a parent-child relationship, a familial bloodline, or an intense bond between partners remains open to interpretation. It is precisely this ambivalence that reinforces the impression of a deeply ingrained connection running through \\u201cflesh and blood,\\u201d one that eludes clear categorization.<\/p> \\u201cVerstrickt\\u201d is thus a quiet, precise work about connection and dependence, about the body as a conduit for meaning\\u2014and about the fragility of the threads that bind people together. \\ue000<\/span><\/p> Bibliography \\u00a0<\/p>\",\"align\":\"bottom\",\"row\":1,\"col\":0,\"colspan\":12,\"offsetx\":0,\"offsety\":0,\"spaceabove\":2,\"spacebelow\":0,\"yvel\":1,\"push\":0,\"relid\":2,\"absolute_position\":false,\"spaceleft\":0,\"spaceright\":0,\"spaceaboveMu\":\"%\",\"spacebelowMu\":\"%\",\"spaceleftMu\":\"%\",\"spacerightMu\":\"%\",\"syncPaddingTopBottom\":false}],\"relid\":8,\"colspan\":12,\"col\":0,\"push\":0,\"row\":0,\"offsetx\":0,\"offsetxMu\":\"px\",\"offsety\":0,\"offsetyMu\":\"px\",\"spaceabove\":0,\"spacebelow\":0,\"spaceleft\":0,\"spaceright\":0,\"align\":\"bottom\",\"yvel\":1,\"absolute_position\":false},{\"type\":\"projectindex\",\"cont\":\"\",\"align\":\"bottom\",\"row\":1,\"col\":0,\"colspan\":12,\"offsetx\":0,\"offsety\":0,\"spaceabove\":0,\"spacebelow\":0,\"yvel\":1,\"push\":0,\"relid\":4,\"config\":{\"desktop\":{\"sortedColumns\":[{\"name\":\"title\",\"visible\":true},{\"name\":\"categories\",\"visible\":false},{\"name\":\"tags\",\"visible\":false},{\"name\":\"year\",\"visible\":false}],\"titleWidth\":\"\",\"categoriesWidth\":\"\",\"tagsWidth\":\"\",\"yearWidth\":\"\",\"paddingLeftRight\":0},\"tablet\":{\"sortedColumns\":[{\"name\":\"title\",\"visible\":true},{\"name\":\"categories\",\"visible\":false},{\"name\":\"tags\",\"visible\":false},{\"name\":\"year\",\"visible\":false}],\"titleWidth\":\"\",\"categoriesWidth\":\"\",\"tagsWidth\":\"\",\"yearWidth\":\"\",\"paddingLeftRight\":0},\"phone\":{\"sortedColumns\":[{\"name\":\"title\",\"visible\":true},{\"name\":\"categories\",\"visible\":false},{\"name\":\"tags\",\"visible\":false},{\"name\":\"year\",\"visible\":false}],\"titleWidth\":\"\",\"categoriesWidth\":\"\",\"tagsWidth\":\"\",\"yearWidth\":\"\",\"paddingLeftRight\":0},\"category\":[{\"label\":\"Texte\",\"value\":\"texte\"}],\"orderBy\":\"date\",\"order\":\"DESC\",\"sortedCategories\":[{\"term_id\":4,\"name\":\"Projekte\",\"name_display\":\"Projekte\",\"visible\":true},{\"term_id\":3,\"name\":\"Texte\",\"name_display\":\"Texte\",\"visible\":true},{\"term_id\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"name_display\":\"Startseite\",\"visible\":true}],\"sortedTags\":[{\"term_id\":6,\"name\":\"Michael H\\u00fcbl\",\"visible\":true},{\"term_id\":5,\"name\":\"Rainer Ganahl\",\"visible\":true},{\"term_id\":14,\"name\":\"Katrin Wiesenh\\u00fctter\",\"visible\":true},{\"term_id\":13,\"name\":\"Helena Pere\\u00f1a\",\"visible\":true},{\"term_id\":12,\"name\":\"Werner Meyer\",\"visible\":true},{\"term_id\":11,\"name\":\"Annett Reckert\",\"visible\":true},{\"term_id\":10,\"name\":\"Andrea Jahn\",\"visible\":true},{\"term_id\":9,\"name\":\"Beate Ermacora\",\"visible\":true},{\"term_id\":8,\"name\":\"Nina Bu\\u00dfmann\",\"visible\":true},{\"term_id\":15,\"name\":\"Gu\\u0308nter Baumann\",\"visible\":true}],\"textformat\":\"InterBold\",\"spaceTopBottom\":3,\"lineStrokeWidth\":1,\"lineColor\":\"#000000\",\"textColor\":\"#000000\",\"filterColor\":\"#000000\",\"doHoverColor\":true,\"doBgHoverColor\":true,\"doActiveColor\":true,\"hoverColor\":\"#ffffff\",\"bgHoverColor\":\"#ff00e9\",\"activeColor\":\"#ff00e9\",\"useImageHover\":true,\"useImageHoverVideos\":false,\"doFilterHoverColor\":false,\"filterHoverColor\":\"#000000\",\"showFilters\":true,\"filtersTextformat\":\"InterBold\",\"yearFilterText\":\"Year\",\"tagsFilterText\":\"Tags\",\"categoriesFilterText\":\"Categories\",\"titleFilterText\":\"\",\"categoriesSeparator\":\", \",\"tagsSeparator\":\", \",\"style\":\"table\",\"uniqueId\":1721217170421,\"date_format\":\"Y\"},\"absolute_position\":false,\"stickytop\":\"80\"}]}","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gabrielaoberkofler.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gabrielaoberkofler.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gabrielaoberkofler.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gabrielaoberkofler.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gabrielaoberkofler.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gabrielaoberkofler.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gabrielaoberkofler.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gabrielaoberkofler.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gabrielaoberkofler.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gabrielaoberkofler.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
AK, Baden-W\\u00fcrttemberg 60. 60 Jahre Land Baden-W\\u00fcrttemberg \\u2013 60 Kunstwerke f\\u00fcr Baden-W\\u00fcrttemberg, St\\u00e4dtisches Kunstmuseum Singen u.a., 29. Januar bis 11. M\\u00e4rz 2012.
AK, Desperate Housewives? K\\u00fcnstlerinnen r\\u00e4umen auf, Museum im Kulturspeicher W\\u00fcrzburg u.a., 20. Juni bis 20. September 2015.
AK, Gabriela Oberkofler \\u2013 Blut im Schuh, Hospitalhof Stuttgart, 18. September bis 18. Oktober 2009.
AK, we love to entertain you, St\\u00e4dtische Galerie Villingen-Schwenningen, 14. Mai bis 16. Juli 2006.<\/p>
Sara Fegg<\/p>
AK, Baden-W\\u00fcrttemberg 60. 60 Jahre Land Baden-W\\u00fcrttemberg \\u2013 60 Kunstwerke f\\u00fcr Baden-W\\u00fcrttemberg, St\\u00e4dtisches Kunstmuseum Singen u.a., 29. Januar bis 11. M\\u00e4rz 2012.
AK, Desperate Housewives? K\\u00fcnstlerinnen r\\u00e4umen auf, Museum im Kulturspeicher W\\u00fcrzburg u.a., 20. Juni bis 20. September 2015.
AK, Gabriela Oberkofler \\u2013 Blut im Schuh, Hospitalhof Stuttgart, 18. September bis 18. Oktober 2009.
AK, we love to entertain you, St\\u00e4dtische Galerie Villingen-Schwenningen, 14. Mai bis 16. Juli 2006.<\/p>