Stephan Balkenhol

Chapel König Galerie is proud to present a solo exhibition by Stephan Balkenhol in the Chapel of St. Agnes. Balkenhol is one of the most renowned German sculptors of our time and famous for his coloured wood sculptures. Since the 1980s, Balkenhol has dedicated his artistic practice to investigating the human figure in all its complexity and ambivalence, using wood and bronze media to realize his contemporary mode of anonymous portraiture or, as he playfully calls it "Mr. Everyman". Stephan Balkenhol (b. 1957 in Fritzlar, Germany) is one of the most renowned German sculptors of our time and famous for his coloured wood sculptures, as well as drawings and prints. Balkenhol’s public bronze sculptures, some of which are of monumental dimensions, often entail an element of surprise, appearing in unusual places. Back in the early 1980s, Balkenhol resolutely turned his back on prevailing trends to embrace figuration. Working at the intersection between a minimalist and a concrete visual language as well as the rise of the Neue Wilde, he has made the human figure and fundamental questions around human existence the consistent focus of his art. Balkenhol sculpts and carves his free-standing sculptures in a single piece, from complete tree trunks. This is apparent from the solid plinths, which are conceived as integral to the sculpture. His materials of choice are easily workable soft woods, such as poplar, obeche, and cedar. Their roughly worked surfaces and coloured finishes epitomize Balkenhol’s unmistakable signature style, celebrating the craftsmanship of the artistic process. In 2022, he was honoured by the American Friends of Museums in Israel. In 2016, Balkenhol became an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts, and in 2014 France honoured his work with the Ordre des Art et des Lettres. His works are owned by private and public collections such as the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany; the Kunsthalle Hamburg, Germany; the Neue Pinakothek, Munich, Germany; the Broad Art Foundation, Santa Monica, CA, USA; the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, Scotland; the Museum für Gegenwartskunst (Museum of Contemporary Art), Basel, Switzerland; the Museum Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa; the National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy. Various institutions of international repute have presented solo shows of the artist’s work, such as the Museum Wiesbaden, Germany (2023), Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg, Germany (2020); the Centro de arte contemporáneo de Málaga, Málaga, Spain (2018); the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Palais Gogolevski, Moscow, Russia (2016); the Kunstmuseum Ravensburg, Ravensburg, Germany (2014); the Skulpturenpark Waldfrieden, Wuppertal, Germany (2014); the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy (2013); the Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany (2008) and many more. Balkenhol’s works can also be found in public spaces including der Mann mit Möwenkopf (Man with a Seagull Head), Le Havre, France (2020); Mann mit Hochhaus (Man with Tower Block), Toronto, Canada (2019); Mann mit Füllhorn (Man with Cornucopia), Sneek, Netherlands (2018); Mann auf Seepferdchen (Man on a Seahorse), Waiblingen, Germany (2018); Mann mit Rose (Man with a Rose), Neuss, Germany (2017); Denkmal für Jean Moulin (Monument to Jean Moulin), Metz, France (2014); Denkmal für Richard Wagner (Monument to Richard Wagner), Leipzig, Germany (2013); Mann im Turm (Man in the Tower), Church of St. Elisabeth, Kassel, Germany (2012); Balanceakt (Balancing Act), Berlin, Germany (2009) and Sempre più …, Forum Romanum, Rome, Italy (2009); Sphaera, Salzburg, Austria (2007), Giraffenmann (Giraffe Man), Strasburg, Belgium (2006); Four Large Figures, San Francisco, USA (2005) and Man with Fish, Chicago, USA (2000).

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Alexandrinenstr 118-121

Berlin, NY