Raymond E. Waydelich

Raymond E. Waydelich was born in Strasbourg in 1938, the son of craftsman (cabinetmaker) Marcel Waydelich and his wife Frieda Schneider. At the age of fourteen, he received his first training in sculpture in his father’s workshop, but a year later, on the recommendation of his teacher Louis Fritsch, he was allowed to attend the Académie des Arts décoratifs in Strasbourg. After four years, he graduated with a diploma and was awarded the Grand Prix de la Ville de Strasbourg. He completed a second degree at the Arts Déco in Paris after two years, also with a diploma. In 1973, the tireless collector of everyday objects and family photos discovered the portrait and manuscript of Lydia Jacob (born 1876), a tailor’s apprentice who lived in Strasbourg. She became a constant in his multifaceted work and repeatedly appeared as his muse. For his “archaeology of the future,” which developed from his penchant for archaeology, he assembles, paints, preserves, and documents what the world and environment have to offer at different times, understanding this activity as a memory or visionary glimpse into the future. Waydelich’s extensive oeuvre includes paintings, ceramics and bronze sculptures, assemblages, works on paper, as well as public art actions and performances. The artistic techniques of his colorful, playful, witty and whimsical graphics range from drawing, watercolor, lithography, etching, and monotype to overpaintings of found paper objects. His works can be found in numerous private and public collections, including the Musée d’Art Moderne (Strasbourg), Fond National d’Art Contemporain (Paris), Augustiner Museum (Freiburg i.B.), Regierungspräsidium Südbaden (Freiburg i.B.), and Galleria degli Uffizi (Florence).