Vienna-based artist Stefan Reiterer has been working with 3D printing for six years now. For his exhibition level in Bregenz, he chose Extrudr WOOD filament as a central material and shows how technical precision and artistic perception can grow together.
Stefan Reiterer: Between Digital Image and Physical Space
Stefan Reiterer grew up in the Waldviertel region of Lower Austria, where his art teacher practically turned the school into a walkable museum. That early experience of art transforming space has shaped his work ever since. He went on to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and is now an established figure in the city's art scene, both through his own practice and as a co-founder of the project space new jörg.
At the heart of his work is one recurring question: how do we perceive space? And how can what we know from above, satellite images, maps, aerial views, be translated into something physical and present? For Reiterer, 3D printing is not a goal in itself, but a tool that makes precisely this kind of translation possible.
3D Printing as Artistic Practice
For most people, 3D printing is a technical tool, a way to build prototypes or produce functional parts. Stefan Reiterer approaches it differently: the printer is part of the artistic process for him, with all the uncertainty and surprise that entails.
His entry point into 3D printing came through the Vienna makerspace Happy Lab, where staff first told him about wood fibre filament. What drew him in at the time was the idea of moving from painted MDF surfaces to three-dimensional printed objects made from the same organic material. Six years later, 3D printing is a fixed part of his practice.
In his current series of so-called formants, 3D-printed sculptures become the foundation for painting: the printed form is primed, painted, and transformed into a three-dimensional canvas. The result is objects that sit somewhere between sculpture and painting, directly engaging with the architecture of the exhibition space.
WOOD Filament: Organic Feel, Workable Surface
Stefan Reiterer works with our WOOD filament, a material that contains real wood fibres and behaves quite differently from standard filaments as a result. For his artistic work, three properties matter most:
The combination of print precision and an organic, workable surface puts WOOD filament at the intersection of digital fabrication and hands-on craft. For artistic applications where the surface itself is part of the work, that is a meaningful quality.
Print parameters vary depending on your printer and setup. You'll find current recommendations directly on the WOOD filament product page, including ready-made material profiles.
Stefan Reiterer in Conversation
Extrudr: You worked with WOOD filament for level. How did you come across it, and was it your first choice from the start?
Stefan: I came across WOOD filament about six years ago when staff at the Happy Lab makerspace in Vienna told me about it. At the time, the idea of moving from paintings on MDF to 3D prints made from wood fibre filament felt like a really compelling next step.
Extrudr: What was it actually like to work with the WOOD filament? The texture, the feel, the smell? Any surprises?
Stefan: The texture, the feel and especially the smell won me over right away. But what I find most useful is how well you can sand it.
Extrudr: You paint the prints afterwards. How does paint behave on wood fibre filament compared to other surfaces you work on?
Stefan: I prime the prints carefully before painting, and after that the paint goes on really well. With very twisted or angular objects you sometimes need a bit more patience and a nimbler brush.
Extrudr: How many iterations did it take before the prints for level were what you had in mind?
Stefan: For this show at Bildraum Bodensee, I used self-printed 3D objects for the first time, so there was a lot of learning by doing. But I'm genuinely open to mistakes. They're important for how my artistic work develops.
level: Architecture, Perception, Sculpture
In level, Stefan Reiterer turns his attention to the city of Bregenz and its architecture. The formants sculptures, printed, sanded, primed and painted, take the spatial structures of the Lake Constance region and distort or layer them anew. The exhibition space itself becomes part of the work.
It is the first time Reiterer has used exclusively self-printed objects for a show, a step that sets a new benchmark in his artistic practice.
WOOD-Filament: Organic texture for your own projects
Sandable, paintable, with a genuine wood feel. Discover our WOOD filament and see what you make of it.