Stephan Balkenhol Germany, b. 1957

Biography
Stephan Balkenhol

Stephan Balkenhol is a German sculptor known for his unique style, which has earned him a significant place in the contemporary art world. He is primarily recognized for his distinctive sculptures characterized by rough carvings of hyper-simplistic, anonymous human figures and animals, often finished with a matte layer of paint.

Balkenhol creates both large and small standing sculptures, typically carved from single blocks of wawa or poplar wood. He also produces two-dimensional relief panels—combining painting and sculpture—along with bronze statues designed for outdoor display. Many of his monumental bronze works can be found in urban spaces around the world.

Already during his education at the University of Fine Arts of Hamburg (’76 – ’82), Balkenhol wanted to save figuration from the then prevailing abstract, minimal and conceptual art. But the artist doesn’t want to impose a hidden message on to the figurative. He’s interested in showing the people as they are, their perceivable form and the stuff they’re – literally and figuratively – made of. The direct, seemingly unfinished sculptures come across as quick sketches, fleeting impressions which do justice to the directness with which we generally notice people. The viewer has to fill in the gaps, imbue it with meaning. Fantasy and associations are in the eye of the beholder.
 

“In my visions my sculptures become a question, a mirror.”

 

Now and then absurd elements pop up: humans with animal heads, mating couples on antique vases, monumental figures with stretched-out legs… a sense of humour which counteracts the – at first glance – seriousness of Balkenhol’s works, emphasizing instead the artist’s overall playfulness. Man is never reduced to banality however, on the contrary, the mundanity of Balkenhol’s characters are in honour of the intrinsic value of man.

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View works. Stephan Balkenhol, Teddybär, 2025
Teddybär, 2025
View works
A selection of important solo shows of Stephan Balkenhol: Kunsthalle Emden, Germany (2018), Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, Spain (2018), the MMOMA – Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Russia (2016), the Fondation Fernet-Branca, Saint-Louis, France (May 2016), the Leopold-Hoesch-Museum, Düren, Germany (2015), the Landesgalerie Linz, Austria (2014-2015), the Kunstmuseum Ravensburg, Germany (2014), the St. Elizabeth Church in Kassel, Germany (2012), the Musée de Grenoble, France (2010), the Deichtorhallen in Hamburg, Germany (2009), the National Museum of Art Osaka, Japan (2005) and the Sprengel Museum in Hanover, Germany (2003). In 2006-2007, an extensive exhibition of his work travelled from the Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Germany to the MKM Museum Küppersmühle für Moderne Kunst, Duisburg, Germany and on to the Museum der Moderne Salzburg Mönchsberg, Austria. Deweer Gallery has been presenting solo exhibitions by Stephan Balkenhol since as early as 1987. In 2017 Deweer Gallery organised a solo exhibition ‘30 Years Stephan Balkenhol & Deweer Gallery – A Brilliant Story Since 1987’, to celebrate not only a productive collaboration, but a deep friendship.
 
Although Stephan Balkenhol is mostly known for his figurative wooden sculptures, many of his monumental bronze sculptures can be found in the urban public space – in cities as Berlin, Chicago, Johannesburg, Courtray, London, Paris and Salzburg. Sculptures of the internationally renowned artist are included in major museum and private collections worldwide, in M HKA – Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp, the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, US. amongst others.