Stephan Balkenhol

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Stephan Balkenhol
Balkenhol Stephan-duisb-kueppersmuehle.jpg
Balkenhol in 2010
Born1957 (age 6768)
Education University of Fine Arts of Hamburg
Style Figurative art

Stephan Balkenhol (born 1957) is a German artist who creates figurative painted wooden sculptures and reliefs.

Contents

Early life

Balkenhol was born in 1957 in Fritzlar, Hesse.

Career

He is currently a professor of sculpture at the State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe (Germany). He lives and works in Karlsruhe, Germany, and Meisenthal, France. [1] [2]

Artistic style

Balkenhol's work adopts a figurative artistic style, which typically depicts people in a neutral, objective way by removing socio-critical references. [3]

Balkenhol uses a variety of woods, such as poplar, Douglas fir, and wawa wood. He hand-carves each piece from a single block. He uses paint to structure the sculpture. [4]

Artist's public installations

Balkenhol has completed a number of public commissions in his career. Among them are the “Big Head Column” [5] for the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Venice, Italy), “Big Man with a Little Man” [6] for Pariser Platz (Berlin, Germany), “Man and Woman” [7] for Hamburg Central Library (Hamburg, Germany), “Everyman” [8] for the Edinburgh City Council Offices (Edinburgh, Scotland) and “Toronto Man” [9] (Toronto, Canada).

References

  1. Costello, Diarmuid (2025). "'Die Schönheit des Mittelmenschen: Stephan Balkenhol's "everyman" sculptures'". Art History. 48 (1): 132–161. doi: 10.1093/arthis/ulaf012 . Retrieved 2025-09-28.
  2. "The Indefinite and Universal Figures of Stephan Balkenhol". 9 February 2019. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
  3. "STEPHAN BALKENHOL". Stiftung für Kunst und Kultur e.V. Retrieved 2023-08-17.
  4. Stonard, John-Paul (2000-10-12). Balkenhol, Stephan. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t096692.
  5. "Stephan Balkenhol. "Big Head-Column"". www.guggenheim-venice.it. Retrieved 2025-10-10.
  6. "Art@Site true-self Stephan Balkenhol, Grosser Mann mit kleinem Mann, Berlin". www.artatsite.com. Retrieved 2025-10-10.
  7. "Stephan Balkenhol: Mann und Frau | Kunst@SH" (in German). 2018-05-29. Retrieved 2025-10-10.
  8. "Everyman | Art UK". artuk.org. Retrieved 2025-10-10.
  9. Heather, Rosemary (2019-12-17). "Look closer at the Toronto Man sculpture on St. Clair West - NOW Magazine". NOW Toronto. Retrieved 2025-10-10.