Stephan Balkenhol

Stephan Balkenhol (*1957, Fritzlar, Germany) is one of the most important contemporary artists. He is well-known for his virtuosic, figurative wood sculptures worked from a single piece of wood. A chainsaw first gives the trunk a rough outline, then a chisel and mallet do the precision work carving out the figures. Finally, a carefully applied layer of paint breathes life into them. The human being is at the center of Balkenhol’s work. Although our eyes are strangely unable to meet their gazes, his figures emanate serenity and a sense of calm. They appear introverted and contemplative as if pondering their own existence or interrogating the beholder’s alter ego. It is almost impossible to ignore the presence of Balkenhol’s figures. Their appearance is so familiar to us from our everyday lives that the artist’s faces are habitually called “mirrors of our time.” They’ve been populating our cultural public landscape for years, especially in Europe, and so we think we know them intimately whenever we see a new work by the artist. But this very ambivalence in their eyes continually leaves room for something new. One might assess the figures differently depending on one’s mood and experience them as a companion through one’s own imagination.

The works by Stephan Balkenhol are part of numerous international collections such as: Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz; The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal; Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin; Museum Ludwig, Cologne; Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst (GfZK), Leipzig; SØR Rusche Sammlung Oelde/Berlin, Oelde-Stromberg; Hamburger Kunsthalle; The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; MARCA - Museo delle Arti Catanzaro, Catanzaro; Museo d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto (MART), Rovereto; MUDAM Luxembourg; Kunstmuseum Basel; UBS Art Collection Zurich; MOMA, New York City.