Le langage de l‘art

The internationally renowned sculptor Stephan Balkenhol is showing a broad spectrum of works ranging from painted wooden sculptures, bozzetti, drawings and woodcuts in the rooms of the Kassel Kunsttempel and Galerie Coucou at the same time.

Stephan Balkenhol was born in northern Hesse. Born in Fritzlar, he completed his Abitur in Kassel before going to Hamburg to study at the Hochschule für bildende Künste. Here he studied under Ulrich Rückriem, among others, and took up teaching positions at various art colleges after graduating. From 1992 to 2023, he taught as a professor of sculpture at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe. In addition to a studio in Meisenthal, France, Stephan Balkenhol has lived and worked in Kassel since 2012.

Stephan Balkenhol sees his cutting, sawing and carving work in wood as an exploration of the world in all its manifestations. Roughly hewn, colored wooden figures, which clearly show the traces of his work, are representatives of this appropriation of the world. "I revolve around the human figure and the fundamental questions of human existence," says the artist, explaining his 40 years of work. The fact that this also includes art history as the "history of mankind" is particularly evident in the drawings and bozzetti on display. The artist explains that he drew inspiration for the exhibition at Galerie Coucou and the Kassel Kunsttempel from visits to museums in various countries. "For me, art is a universal language and the migration of form has been a sign of the exchange of ideas that opens our eyes and the world since time immemorial. Even if it is bound to certain cultural conventions, it is precisely this that opens up the potential to find something existentially common in other cultures."

In the sculptures and graphics on display, Balkenhol convincingly demonstrates how the familiar and the foreign can merge in art.

Stephan Balkenhol's works have been presented in numerous national and international exhibitions since the 1980s and can be found in many public and private collections. "The Man in the Tower" has been on display in the tower of St. Elisabeth's Church since 2012, and the artist has been represented by Galerie Coucou since the exhibition "Home Run" (2016). In 2019, he showed the exhibition "Deadline" at the Museum for Sepulchral Culture.

Helmut Krausser reads at the Kunsttempel
"Illusion is the most important thing in life, the last hope, so to speak" The multi-award-winning writer and composer Helmut Krausser reads from his newly published novel "Freundschaft und Vergeltung" (June 2024). The one-hour reading will be accompanied by Dr. Bernd Maubach.

With the kind support of: Cultural Office of the City of Kassel