Stephan Balkenhol - A Great Attraction

From October 27, 2018 to January 13, 2019, a public exhibit with an overview on Stephan Balkenhol’s works will take place for the first time in Belgium at the Cultuurcentrum Scharpoord in Knokke. The Deweer Gallery and the MDZ Art Gallery took this opportunity to organize a parallel sales exhibition of works by the internationally renowned artist, who is regarded as a pioneer of contemporary figurative sculpture, from October 26, 2018 to December 3, 2018.

It is a game between the pleasantly familiar and the dangerously unknown. The sculptures seem distant, anonymous, mysterious. They show no emotions whatsoever, seemingly staring into emptiness. By depicting everyday stereotypes without any emotions, often in monumental size, Stephan Balkenhol draws attention to the focus of his work - human beings. And he does so in a very special way. His painted wooden sculptures, which reveal neither the age nor the social standing of their subject, do not merely serve the purpose of depicting something, but are deliberately kept emotionless in order to remain open to any possible interpretation by the viewer. They can even serve as a mirror of the feelings, wishes and hopes that the viewer carries within. Thus, he opposes the tradition of the monument with a clear antithesis. Instead of depicting historical personalities, heroes, or great thinkers, he focuses on the average, the banal, the normal, and the anonymous. He also likes to place his works in extremely unusual places in public spaces, as demonstrated in Berlin, Chicago, Johannesburg, Kortrijk, London, Paris, and Salzburg. As one of the most internationally renowned artists, he is regarded as a pioneer of contemporary figurative sculpture.

Born in 1957, Stephan Balkenhol was the youngest of four sons and grew up in Fritzlar (Hesse), Luxembourg and Kassel. During his studies from 1976 to 1982 at the University of Fine Arts (Hochschule für Bildende Künste) in Hamburg, he was influenced by Ulrich Rückriem and Sigmar Polke, among others. After graduating, the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Scholarship paved his way for a successful career as a sculptor and in 1987 he received his first international recognition.  In addition, he has been teaching as a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe since 1992. Today he lives and works in Karlsruhe, Meisenthal (France) and Kassel. In addition to his wood sculptures and bronze editions, Stephan Balkenhol also produces reliefs, drawings, lithographs, woodcuts and silkscreen prints, which he also combines with each other in a surreal manner. The coarsely carved, colorfully painted wooden sculptures, which depict people, animals and architecture, are, however, his trademark. He creates basic models, which he then varies in many ways. His most famous model is probably the "man with black trousers and a white shirt". As a further development of Conceptual Art and Minimal Art, Balkenhol's historical significance even today lies in the combination of minimalist language with figurative sculpture made of wood. In doing so, he distances himself completely from the prejudices that have existed for the last three decades regarding traditional European woodcarving and its alleged incompatibility with modern, contemporary art. He has created a completely new, original and inimitable

Under the title Stephan Balkenhol - Wooden Sculptures from Private Collections, a public overview exhibition will take place for the first time in Belgium at the Cultuurcentrum Scharpoord in Knokke from October 27, 2018 until January 13, 2019. In addition to loaned works, the CC Scharpoord will also present a series of works for sale. The Deweer Gallery (Otegem, Belgium), which has represented Stephan Balkenhol's works in Belgium since 1987, and the MDZ Art Gallery (Knokke-Heist, Belgium) took this opportunity to organize a parallel sales exhibition. From October 26, 2018 to December 3, 2018, the exhibition will take place under the title STEPHAN BALKENHOL in the premises of the MDZ Art Gallery. Especially for this occasion, Balkenhol provided an edition of a new bronze sculpture "Man with a White Shirt and Black Trousers". This bronze of a classically dressed man is a representative symbol, an iconic representation of his work.

Stephan Balkenhol - Wooden Sculptures from Private Collections

Cultuurcentrum Scharpoord
Meerlaan 32
8300 Knokke

27.10.2018 – 13.01.2019
www.cultuur.knokke-heist.be 

STEPHAN BALKENHOL

MDZ Art Gallery
Kustlaan 149
Knokke-Heist
Belgium

26.10.2018 – 03.12.2018 
www.deweergallery.be 

 

Author: Claudia Thiel

Claudia Thiel is an art historian and likes to pose her questions to the subject area in a journalistic style.