Anschlussheilbehandlung (2025-)

Follow-Up Rehabilitation

On August 5, 2025, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Due to the aggressiveness of the tumor, surgery was performed shortly thereafter, during which the prostate, seminal vesicles, vas deferens, and fifteen lymph nodes were removed.

About ten weeks later, a nearly three-week period of follow-up rehabilitation began. Daily life was strictly structured by therapy schedules, mealtimes, and medical rounds. Routines, staff, and fellow patients dictated the rhythm of the day; in between were phases of waiting and physical self-observation.

This series of pencil drawings depicts unremarkable moments and functional spaces of everyday clinic life: patient rooms, hallways, therapy and waiting rooms, the dining hall, cafeteria, and auditorium. These are places defined by repetition, function, and procedure.

The essential contours of the rooms and objects were captured directly on-site using a blue colored pencil. Further refinement took place in the studio from memory: using graphite pencil, I added surface textures, light and shadow, as well as fictional figures that appear as mere outlines.

The series opens with a self-portrait created one hour after surgery: the bloated abdomen, surgical dressings over the incisions. This drawing marks the starting point of the series.

Follow-Up Rehabilitation is not intended as a medical report. It documents a time in which daily life and one's entire perception are concentrated on one's own body and a few specific rooms.


A detailed hand drawing by artist Herbert Stattler depicting a male torso one hour post-prostatectomy. The artwork captures the surgical reality of a bloated abdomen and five bandaged laparoscopic wounds with visible blood spots.

Untitled (Fallnr515674891_Post-OP), 2025, pencil on Paper, 42 x 29.7 cm

A detailed hand drawing by artist Herbert Stattler depicting a male torso one hour post-prostatectomy. The artwork captures the surgical reality of a bloated abdomen and five bandaged laparoscopic wounds with visible blood spots.

Detail of Untitled (Fallnr515674891_Post-OP), 2025, pencil on Paper, 42 x 29.7 cm

An artistic hand drawing by Herbert Stattler depicting the basement level of a tumor rehabilitation clinic. The scene shows a lone patient walking down a hallway lined with four doors, including marked locker rooms for men and women.

Untitled (E0_Bewegungsbad-Wartebereich_I), 2026, pencil on Paper, 42 x 29.7 cm

An artistic hand drawing by Herbert Stattler depicting the basement level of a tumor rehabilitation clinic. The scene shows a lone patient walking down a hallway lined with four doors, including marked locker rooms for men and women.

Detail of Untitled (E0_Bewegungsbad-Wartebereich_I), 2026, pencil on Paper, 42 x 29.7 cm

Artistic hand drawing by Herbert Stattler depicting the waiting area for a therapeutic pool in a tumor rehabilitation clinic. A patient in a bathrobe sits on a bench next to a small, decorated plastic Christmas tree on a low table.

Untitled (E0_Bewegungsbad-Wartebereich_II), 2026, pencil on Paper, 42 x 29.7 cm

Artistic hand drawing by Herbert Stattler depicting the waiting area for a therapeutic pool in a tumor rehabilitation clinic. A patient in a bathrobe sits on a bench next to a small, decorated plastic Christmas tree on a low table.

Detail of Untitled (E0_Bewegungsbad-Wartebereich_II), 2026, pencil on Paper, 42 x 29.7 cm

Artistic hand drawing by Herbert Stattler featuring a live concert in the ground-floor assembly hall of a tumor rehabilitation clinic. In the background, a pan flute player performs with a percussionist accompaniment, while rows of patients watch from the foreground.

Untitled (E0_Festsaal-Panflötenträume-Shadows of Soul), 2026, pencil on Paper, 42 x 29.7 cm

Artistic hand drawing by Herbert Stattler featuring a live concert in the ground-floor assembly hall of a tumor rehabilitation clinic. In the background, a pan flute player performs with a percussionist accompaniment, while rows of patients watch from the foreground.

Detail of Untitled (E0_Festsaal-Panflötenträume-Shadows of Soul), 2026, pencil on Paper, 42 x 29.7 cm

Artistic hand drawing by Herbert Stattler of a basement seating area in an oncology rehabilitation clinic. Four patients holding pamphlets sit in conversation against a wall with a massive bird mural, while a snack and soda vending machine stands in the background.

Untitled (E0_Foyer_Sitzgruppe), 2026, pencil on Paper, 42 x 29.7 cm

Artistic hand drawing by Herbert Stattler of a basement seating area in an oncology rehabilitation clinic. Four patients holding pamphlets sit in conversation against a wall with a massive bird mural, while a snack and soda vending machine stands in the background.

Detail of Untitled (E0_Foyer_Sitzgruppe), 2026, pencil on Paper, 42 x 29.7 cm

Artistic hand drawing by Herbert Stattler depicting a basement hallway in a tumor rehabilitation clinic. A lone patient sits on one of two four-person benches with their walker nearby, facing open glass fire doors at the end of the corridor.

Untitled (E0_GymnastikraumA+B-Wartebereich_I), 2026, pencil on Paper, 42 x 29.7 cm

Artistic hand drawing by Herbert Stattler depicting a basement hallway in a tumor rehabilitation clinic. A lone patient sits on one of two four-person benches with their walker nearby, facing open glass fire doors at the end of the corridor.

Detail of Untitled (E0_GymnastikraumA+B-Wartebereich_I), 2026, pencil on Paper, 42 x 29.7 cm

Artistic hand drawing by Herbert Stattler of a basement hallway in an oncology rehabilitation clinic. Patients are seated on four-person benches on both sides of the corridor, waiting for therapy in front of open glass fire doors.

Untitled (E0_GymnastikraumA+B-Wartebereich_II), 2026, pencil on Paper, 42 x 29.7 cm

Artistic hand drawing by Herbert Stattler of a basement hallway in an oncology rehabilitation clinic. Patients are seated on four-person benches on both sides of the corridor, waiting for therapy in front of open glass fire doors.

Detail of Untitled (E0_GymnastikraumA+B-Wartebereich_II), 2026, pencil on Paper, 42 x 29.7 cm

A sparse hand drawing by Herbert Stattler depicting a basement treatment room in a tumor rehabilitation clinic. The scene features a stark, empty medical bed with crumpled sheets, isolated from the room by a privacy curtain.

Untitled (E0_Therapie-Raum 1), 2026, pencil on Paper, 42 x 29.7 cm

A sparse hand drawing by Herbert Stattler depicting a basement treatment room in a tumor rehabilitation clinic. The scene features a stark, empty medical bed with crumpled sheets, isolated from the room by a privacy curtain.

Detail of Untitled (E0_Therapie-Raum 1), 2026, pencil on Paper, 42 x 29.7 cm

Artistic hand drawing by Herbert Stattler of a patient’s reflection in a hospital room mirror. The image shows a bare male torso nine weeks post-prostatectomy with visible healing scars, framed by the partial view of a bedside reading lamp.

Untitled (E3_Zimmer 224-Spiegel), 2026, pencil on Paper, 42 x 29.7 cm

Artistic hand drawing by Herbert Stattler of a patient’s reflection in a hospital room mirror. The image shows a bare male torso nine weeks post-prostatectomy with visible healing scars, framed by the partial view of a bedside reading lamp.

Detail of Untitled (E3_Zimmer 224-Spiegel), 2026, pencil on Paper, 42 x 29.7 cm

work in progress