Public Art "The Owl" by Stefan Strumbel

Open to the public

In the public space of Ibiza, it rises—calm yet watchful: a monumental bronze owl, enthroned atop a pine cone. But it is more than just a symbol of nature: it is the weight from a traditional cuckoo clock. With this, Stefan Strumbel brings to the island not only a powerful symbol of home and origin but also a precise image of the passage of time.

The owl, a classical symbol of wisdom, the night, and the ability to see what is hidden, observes a turbulent world. In times of global uncertainty, political tension, and social change, it becomes a silent witness to darker times. The cuckoo clock weight beneath it alludes to cyclical processes, the ticking of history, and what we may have forgotten.

Strumbel, who grew up in the Black Forest, interweaves personal identity with collective memory. The owl brings a piece of Central European culture to a place that represents freedom, change, and contrast. In Ibiza—amid nightlife, a history of exile, and spiritual quests—the work takes on new meaning: as confrontation, as disruption, as offering.

The sculpture poses profound questions: What does home mean in a globalized world? What values will help us overcome crises? How can we find our bearings when time no longer guides us? The Owl is not an answer. It watches in silence, alert, discreet. A symbol of both present and past, of loss and of hope. A weight that does not pull down, but rather sustains.

Stefan Strumbel, born in Offenburg in 1979, is an artist whose work continuously explores the concept and construction of "home." Without a classical academic background, he developed his own artistic language early on—one marked by a sharp examination of cultural symbols, collective memory, and social narratives.

Since the early 2000s, Strumbel has been creating sculptures, installations, and paintings that engage with questions of identity, belonging, and the understanding of tradition. He deliberately focuses on the tension between the familiar and the foreign, revealing the contradictions of a notion of home that is at once emotional, politically charged, and historically burdened.

His works have been shown in numerous institutional exhibitions, including major solo exhibitions in Germany and abroad. Stefan Strumbel lives and works in Offenburg and is represented by Ruttkowski:68 gallery.