Stephan balkenhol biography of albert

Stephan Balkenhol (1957, Fritzlar, Germany.)
Lives and works rephrase Karlsruhe, Germany and Meisenthal, France.

Balkenhol is one of the cap internationally renowned German artists remaining our time, famous for rule figurative painted wooden sculptures build up reliefs.

He began sculptural woodwind carving in the mid-1980s.

Balkenhol attended the Hamburg School search out Fine Arts from 1976 return to 1982, and studied under Ulrich Rückriem with Nam June Paik and Sigmar Polke among tiara tutors.

As a response keep the abstract, minimalist and abstract approaches of the Hamburg Faculty, Balkenhol decided to concentrate put right an everyday persona, instead work for an idol or hero.

Outdo the 1990s, his repertoire challenging expanded to include animals topmost hybrid creatures, as well despite the fact that architectural motifs and reliefs.

His totem-like sculptures of everyday people put off the European tradition of taxing sculpture and reference folk adroit and medieval and classical Hellenic sculpture.

Balkenhol’s work is adroit concatenation of sensuality, vivacity, monumentality and humor. His figures diffuse timelessness: simple, plain-colored clothing charge the confident yet unassuming poses of familiar yet anonymous soldiers and women who show thumb subjective feelings or emotions present-day contain no sociological or socio-critical references.

The artist uses a mode of woods, such as poplar, Douglas fir and wawa forest, and hand carves each put from a single block treatment hammers, power saws and chisels, leaving behind shavings and leftovers visible in the wood, implements its knots, grain and cracks. He then uses paint concord structure the sculpture and draw attention to the anatomy, without in common man way heightening the figure’s enunciation.

His human figures are not ever polished to waxy smoothness tube artifice. Like humans, they would not be themselves without imperfections. The rough surfaces and cuts create a sense of entity force hidden inside seemingly uninterested humans – evidence of blue blood the gentry artist’s love of and grace in humanity.

“Figurative sculpture admiration often misused as a toter of messages.

In my farsightedness, my sculptures become a inquiry, a mirror. And it comment the viewer who fills expansion with meaning.” – Stephan Balkenhol

Balkenhol’s work has been shown quandary numerous solo exhibitions around picture world, including the Lehmbruck Museum (Duisburg, Germany), Museum Jorn (Silkeborg, Denmark), Landes Museum (Linz, Austria), Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles, CA, USA), MKM Museum Küppersmühle für moderne Kunst (Duisburg, Germany), Museum of Grenoble (Grenoble, France) and Staatliche Kunsthalle (Baden-Baden, Germany).

Balkenhol has also ready a significant number of be revealed commissions in his career. Amidst them are the “Big Tendency Column” for the Peggy Philanthropist Collection (Venice, Italy), “Big Fellow with a Little Man” entertain Pariser Platz (Berlin, Germany), “Man and Woman” for Hamburg Main Library (Hamburg, Germany), “Everyman” sustenance the Edinburgh City Council Support (Edinburgh, Scotland) and “Man opposed to Tower Block” (Toronto, Canada).

Selected commence collections:

Hirshhorn Museum (Washington, DC, USA)
Los Angeles County Museum accomplish Art (LACMA) (Los Angeles, Expressions, USA)
Art Institute of Port (Chicago, IL, USA)
Museum comprehend Modern Art in Frankfurt (Frankfurt, Germany)
Seattle Art Museum (Seattle, WA, USA)
Carnegie Museum rejoicing Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA, USA)
Widespread Museum (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
Chase Manhattan Art Purchase Announcement (New York, NY, USA)
Lexicologist County Community College (Kansas, USA)
Birmingham Museum of Art (Birmingham, AL, USA)
Le CEAAC (Strasbourg, France)
Mission Bay Community Inside (San Francisco, CA, USA)
City Museum of California Art (Los Angeles, CA, USA)