Stephan Balkenhol

STEPHAN BALKENHOL (Fritzlar, Hesse, Germany, 1957).
"Unicorn" 2020.
Patinated bronze.
Ed. 24+VI A.P.
Measurements:34 x 53 x 21,5 cm; 0.8 x 70 x 35 cm (base).

The sculpture "Unicorn" by Stephan Balkenhol is a work of playful appearance but that condenses the tensions and fundamental principles that have governed the trajectory of the German artist. Made in patinated bronze of a silvery color and rough texture, the piece presents the mythical creature sitting directly on the ground, in a posture of repose that is at once familiar and profoundly strange. To understand the radical nature of this work, it is necessary to place it in the context of a sculptor who has dedicated his career to the reintroduction of the anonymous human figure into contemporary artistic discourse.

The choice of a mythological being is, in itself, a notable departure from his usual repertoire. The unicorn is a symbol loaded with centuries of iconography: it represents purity, magic, nobility and an untamed nature. Traditionally, it is depicted in dynamic and majestic poses.

By presenting the unicorn seated on the ground, it strips it of its inherent monumentality. The pose is passive, almost domestic. It transforms a creature of legend into a figure as everyday and accessible as its anonymous men and women.

The choice of bronze evokes the weight of classical sculptural tradition, giving the piece a permanence and gravity that contrasts with the lightness of wood. However, Balkenhol refuses to polish the surface. The rough texture and the patinated silver finish are crucial: the roughness is the trace of the process, the memory of the original wooden model, which reaffirms the "invoice" (the evidence of the artist's hand) and denies any idealization. The silver color, on the other hand, alludes to the lunar and fantastic quality of the animal, creating a dialectic tension between the classic material (bronze) and the mythical finish (silver).

Stephan Balkenhol is a German sculptor, recognized for his sculptures that represent the human form in different poses, delving into the absurd. His work is transformed into a recognizable form with the use of a chisel. He attended the Hamburg School of Fine Arts from 1976 to 1982, under the direction of Ulrich Rückriem to whom he became a studio assistant in 1980. Balkenhol reacted to the minimalist and conceptual trends popular at the time, with mentors such as Nam June Paik and Sigmar Polke. His experience in these years would profoundly mark his later artistic practice. He received the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Foundation scholarship in 1983 and soon after began to work as a teacher at various art schools. Among his most important solo exhibitions in recent years are: Von der Heydt-Museum, Wuppertal (1998), Sprengel Museum, Hannover (2003), National Museum of Contemporary Art, Osaka, and Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery (2005), Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden (in 2006 toured to Museum der Moderne Salzburg and MKM Museum Küppersmühle für Moderne Kunst, Duisburg), Deichtorhallen Hamburg (2008/09), Musée de Grenoble (2010/11), Kunstmuseum Ravensburg (2014) and Moscow Museum of Modern Art (2016).