ARTISTS
Stephan Balkenhol
It is with great pleasure we present a solo exhibition with a series of new works by the German sculptor Stephan Balkenhol.
The works of Stephan Balkenhol relate to a long tradition of three-dimensional art. He studied under Ulrich R眉chriem and found his own sculptural language in contrast to both the minimalist tradition as well as the history of the earlier figurative sculptures. With traditional utensils as hammer and chisel seemingly ordinary men and women take shape out of large blocks of wood. With a refined stillness and an utterly disarming lack of provocation, Balkenhol lets his figures climb up on the pedestals.
Balkenhol鈥檚 carved men and women carry ordinary clothes and the artist does not reveal anything about the figures鈥� roles, he leaves them completely without professional references, social status or function in society. Balkenhol鈥檚 figures do not tell any stories, they do not tell us where they are coming from, nor to where they are heading. Yet, the figures feel familiar and the notion of resemblance grow out of the own references that are mirrored in the plain faces of the men and women. Balkenhol succeeds in creating magic out of the common. Because it is in the ordinary and common where magic can grow, where there is room for thoughts and the viewer is given the opportunity to fill the works with meaning.
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It is with great pleasure we present a solo exhibition with a series of new works by the German sculptor Stephan Balkenhol.
The works of Stephan Balkenhol relate to a long tradition of three-dimensional art. He studied under Ulrich R眉chriem and found his own sculptural language in contrast to both the minimalist tradition as well as the history of the earlier figurative sculptures. With traditional utensils as hammer and chisel seemingly ordinary men and women take shape out of large blocks of wood. With a refined stillness and an utterly disarming lack of provocation, Balkenhol lets his figures climb up on the pedestals.
Balkenhol鈥檚 carved men and women carry ordinary clothes and the artist does not reveal anything about the figures鈥� roles, he leaves them completely without professional references, social status or function in society. Balkenhol鈥檚 figures do not tell any stories, they do not tell us where they are coming from, nor to where they are heading. Yet, the figures feel familiar and the notion of resemblance grow out of the own references that are mirrored in the plain faces of the men and women. Balkenhol succeeds in creating magic out of the common. Because it is in the ordinary and common where magic can grow, where there is room for thoughts and the viewer is given the opportunity to fill the works with meaning.
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