Three Questions for: Marion Abate

What connects you with Beethoven's life and work – or not?

"Art arises where resistance does not become the end, but the beginning." I am connected to Beethoven by this uncompromising creative drive – continuing despite internal and external fractures. His increasing deafness and yet his "inner hearing" touch me deeply.

I also know the struggle with material, technique, and failure – especially in ceramic 3D printing, when forms collapse or processes break down. It is often there that the decisive emerges. What separates us, perhaps, is the medium: He composed sound, I shape space. But in both cases, it's about rhythm, structure, and compression – about composition, whether in time or space.

If Beethoven were sitting opposite you: What questions would you ask?

"What does an idea sound like before it takes form?" I would ask him how he composed when he could hardly hear anymore. What inner images guided him.

In my work, sculptures also arise digitally before they become material – I work with virtual models, layer construction, translation into clay or polymer. I would want to know: Did he have inner spaces? Architectures of sound? And: How much courage does it take to work radically against expectations?

How does Beethoven influence you and us today?

"Freedom is a decision – even in art." Beethoven showed that art can be an attitude. That it can formulate a societal vision. This autonomy shapes me – both in the studio and in my teaching. I encourage young people to develop their own standards and to use technology not just functionally, but aesthetically. Beethoven was innovation in the 19th century.

Today we work with 3D printing and AI – but the question remains the same: How do we create something that transcends us?