Stephan Balkenhol

Stephan Balkenhol has gained international recognition for his figurative sculptures that he roughly carves from blocks of Wawa wood, oak, beechwood or poplar, subsequently painting parts of them with clear primary colours. Balkenhol started reflecting on the traditions of classical and modern figurative sculpture from the 1980s onwards. He critically revisits the possibilities for a contemporary approach towards the representation of the human figure. His work includes both free-standing sculptures on plinths and columns as well as reliefs of various sizes. They depict mostly nameless middle-aged men and women, generic in their appearance, with serene and distant glances, their attitudes and faces devoid of expression. With simple variations in pose, gesture and clothing, Balkenhol repeats in a seemingly endless variety the same features again and again. Universal but still quite individual, motionless and silent yet very present, Balkenhol’s men and women are clearly rooted in today’s world. Free from any sharp commentary on our society, they still reflect on the richness and the many contradictions that characterise our world.