Alexander Polzin


Alexander Polzin is a German sculptor, painter, graphic artist, costume and set designer.

Life

Born in Berlin, originally trained as a stonemason, Polzin launched his international career as a freelance sculptor, painter, graphic artist and stage designer in 1991, building on the success of his first exhibition in Berlin's Kulturhaus-Pankow four years earlier. In 1994 Polzin was invited by Dr. Gary Smith, founding director of the Einstein Forum in Potsdam, to present the first exhibition of solo work at the Institute: Arbeiten im Einstein Forum. The introduction to the exhibition catalogue was written by Professor Hans Belting. Polzin's series of paintings, Monster, appeared in a collection of images and essays edited by the pioneering American cultural historian, Sander Gilman, published in 1995.
Exhibitions of his works include the Getty Center in Los Angeles, Budapest, Bucharest and Naples, at the Institute for Advanced Study Berlin, Bard College, New York, Van Leer Institute of Israel, San Francisco International Arts Festival and at the Teatro Real in Madrid. Sculptures in public places include "The Fallen Angel" in front of the Semper Observatory Collegium Helveticum in Zurich, the "Giordano Bruno Memorial" in Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, "Socrates" on the campus of Tel Aviv University, and "The Couple," commissioned by the Opera National de Bastille, Paris. Polzin's sculptures are all cast by Marc Krepp.
Polzin has worked with the composers Amos Elkana, Helmut Lachenmann and György Kurtág connecting their music with visual arts. Polzin was a guest at the International Artist House in Herzliya, Israel, ETH Zurich, The Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, California and first 'Artist in Residence' at the Center for Advanced Study at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg "Law as Culture" in Bonn. Polzin taught as a guest professor at the ETH Zurich and the University of California at Santa Cruz. Polzin regularly works as a set designer for opera, dance and drama.

Stage and costume designs (selection)

Sculptures and projects (selection)

Exhibitions (selection)

Artist in residence (selection)

  • 2010/11 – Artist-in-Residence Käte Hamburger Kolleg "Law as Culture", Bonn
  • 2008 – Visiting Artist at the University of California in Santa Cruz
  • 2006 – Artist-in-Residence Villa Montalvo and Don Lucas Artists Program
  • 2005 – McCloy Fellowship in Art
  • 2000 – Getty Center Los Angeles
  • 1998 – Collegium Helveticum Zürich, Exhibition and Artist in Residence ETH Zürich
  • 1996/97 – Invitation to International Artists House in Herzliya, Israel : sculpture "The Stone Merchant" and Exhibition

Curator (selection)

  • 2011 – Curator of the conference "Guilt II" at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg "Law as Culture" Bonn, including guest speakers, Toshio Hosokawa, Fawwaz Traboulsi and Ryoko Aoki
  • 2010 – Curator of the conference "Guilt I" at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg "Right as Culture" Bonn, including guest speakers Sudhir Kakar, Ramin Jahanbegloo, Antjie Krog and Fritz Lichtenhahn
  • 2009 – Consultant for Exhibition design "Images in the Islamic World" in Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin
  • 2009 – Guest Professor for Stage Design at UCSC, USA.