Stephan Balkenhol

STEPHAN BALKENHOL (Fritzlar, Hesse, Germany, 1957).
"Gedrehter Mann I & II", 2002.
Pair of plaster sculptures.
Exhibitions: Stephan Balkenhol, Deweer Art Gallery, Otegem, , 2002 / Stephan Balkenhol - Houtsculpturen uit privécollecties , CC Scharpoord, Knokke-Heist, BE, 2018.
Publications: Visitor's guide 'Stephan Balkenhol - Wooden sculptures from private collections', CC Scharpoord, Knokke-Heist, Belgium, 2018, p. 8. /30 Years Stephan Balkenhol & Deweer Gallery - A Brilliant Story Since 1987, Deweer Gallery, Otegem, Belgium, p. 50-51. / Rodin, Brancusi, Carl Andre...le socle, MUba Eugène Leroy, Tourcoing, France, 2017, p. 99.
cat. DAG # 130
Measurements: 75.2 x 52 x 22 cm. and 58.2 x 40 x 20 cm.

This pair of "Twisted Men" takes us into Stephan Balkenhol's characteristic plastic work, consisting on the one hand in leaving the surfaces unpolished, enhancing the roughness of the patina, and on the other hand, in prioritizing the absence of attributes of his men and women, sculptures of anonymous individuals that he resolves with a language that we could qualify as expressionist and existential. He always introduces some incongruity: in the twisted gesture, in the excessively long legs, in the minimized or maximized scale? In this case, the pair of characters wobbles: one seems to have plasticine legs, leaning backwards as if he had no bones, and the other seems to be bowing strangely. To generate strangeness but also empathy is what Stephan Balkenhol achieves with his endearing human figures.

Stephan Balkenhol is a German sculptor, recognized for his sculptures that represent the human form in different poses, delving into the absurd. His work is transformed into a recognizable form with the use of a chisel. He attended the Hamburg School of Fine Arts from 1976 to 1982, under the direction of Ulrich Rückriem to whom he became a studio assistant in 1980. Balkenhol reacted to the minimalist and conceptual trends popular at the time, with mentors such as Nam June Paik and Sigmar Polke. His experience in these years would profoundly mark his later artistic practice. He received the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Foundation scholarship in 1983 and soon after began to work as a teacher at various art schools. Among his most important solo exhibitions in recent years are: Von der Heydt-Museum, Wuppertal (1998), Sprengel Museum, Hannover (2003), National Museum of Contemporary Art, Osaka, and Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery (2005), Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden (in 2006 toured to Museum der Moderne Salzburg and MKM Museum Küppersmühle für Moderne Kunst, Duisburg), Deichtorhallen Hamburg (2008/09), Musée de Grenoble (2010/11), Kunstmuseum Ravensburg (2014) and Moscow Museum of Modern Art (2016).