Heinrich Filter

About Heinrich Filter

Greetings from the southern hemisphere, Firstly a thank you to you for looking at my work and profile and to Saatchi Art for providing this excellent platform to artists. My passion for Africa, its people and wildlife are an enduring hallmark of my life. Much of my art is inspired by Africa's magnificent wildlife and people. Taking inspiration from the bush and my previous experience as a safari guide in Botswana my creations strive to capture the essence and beauty of the animals I sculpt. My expertise ranges from figurative, wildlife, bird, abstract to African works and more recently bespoke furniture which is cast in bronze. Each piece is exclusively sculpted, cast, chased and finished by myself – from beginning to end. Using the lost wax method of bronzing, I cast each piece in my foundry and it is finished individually by hand. Warm regards Heinrich ABOUT THE ARTIST : Heinrich Filter – a wild life, in silver and bronze A lifelong passion for wildlife led South African sculptor Heinrich Filter along the game paths of Africa’s wild places to the London studios of a sculptor friend. Here he acquired the specialised skills of chasing and finishing fine bronze and silver sculptures, honing his craftsmanship and identifying his own abilities as a sculptor. But where did it all start? On bush walks as a youngster, it seems, with his brother-in-law, a wildlife vet, who would take Heinrich with him into the private game reserves where he tended to the animals. No surprise then, that Heinrich chose the life of a professional safari guide after university, leading luxury mobile safaris in South Africa and Botswana’s Okavango Delta, as well as managing safari camps in the Okavango. It was during this time that Heinrich met his wife in Maun. After their marriage in 2000 they moved to London where an unexpected career path unfolded in fine metalworking and finishing sculptures for a friend. Refining his skills over the years, Heinrich became a sought-after craftsman, chasing, finishing, and patinating fine bronze and silver sculptures, as well as restoring antique and modern metalwork. His growing reputation saw him finishing and chasing bronze and silver equine and wildlife pieces commissioned for HRH the Prince of Wales, Prince William, Sheikh Mohammed, Sheik Zayed and Sheik Al Maktoum, as well as pieces for exhibitions at William & Son, the Sladmore and Halcyon Galleries. 12 years on, the couple has moved their young family back to Africa and Heinrich’s home town of Pretoria. Here he has started making and finishing his own – wildlife, naturally – sculptures, inspired by his years in the bush spent in close study of his favourite subject. As a completely self-taught artist with no formal art training, Heinrich is a welcome addition to the African art scene, given his expertise in wildlife, bird, figurative, abstract and African works. Each piece is exclusively sculpted, chased and finished by the sculptor himself. Available in any size – from small coffee table pieces to monumental statues – all Heinrich’s works are limited, signed and numbered. Given silver’s relative rarity in sculpting, and with his love of the metal and eye for detail, Heinrich is looking to establish it as a medium for sculpture in South Africa. Heinrich’s innate ability to create exquisitely accurate representations of animals and birds is as finely honed as the wild instinct of the creatures he so admires. You could say it’s is in his nature. He recently started his own foundry at home ,"The Black Dog Foundry", to cast his own work. Commissions Commissions can be undertaken in Sterling silver and bronze and are available in any size and are all exclusively sculpted and finished by the sculptor himself. Price on application.