Stephan Balkenhol


Stephan Balkenhol is a German artist who creates figurative painted wooden sculptures and reliefs.

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. He lives and works in Karlsruhe, Germany, and Meisenthal, France.

Artistic style

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

Artist's public installations

Balkenhol has completed a number of public commissions in his career. Among them are the “Big Head Column” for the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, “Big Man with a Little Man” for Pariser Platz, “Man and Woman” for Hamburg Central Library, “Everyman” for the Edinburgh City Council Offices and “Toronto Man”.