Stephan Balkenhol
Female Nude
Artista
Stephan Balkenhol
1957 Fritzlar
Provenienza
Private collection, Northern Germany.
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Descrizione
• A distinctive, unique piece in wawa wood with echoes of the Venus de Milo
• Possessing an exceptionally strong presence through its stillness and emotional calm
• Stephan Balkenhol is one of Germany’s most sought-after sculptors
A hallmark of Stephan Balkenhol’s sculptures is the successful fusion of tradition and the contemporary. Here, a calmly standing, front-facing figure appears simple at first glance, but reveals a peculiar tension upon closer inspection. With its rough-hewn surface and visible traces of working, the panel as a material remains ever-present – nothing is smoothed or idealised. On closer inspection, an allusion to the Venus de Milo suggests itself. Both figures display a fragmented body – in the case of the Venus, the arms are missing by chance; in Balkenhol’s work, quite deliberately. And in both cases, this is precisely what makes the figure stronger rather than weaker: the gaze lingers, the presence becomes almost even more intense. The difference lies in the tone: the Venus de Milo represents a classical ideal of beauty, smooth, harmonious, timeless in the ancient sense. Balkenhol, on the other hand, brings the figure into the present day – less perfect, more direct, almost a little austere. And yet both have something astonishingly similar: that calm, clear poise that makes an immediate impact without needing to explain much. It is precisely this interplay between a nod to the great tradition and a wholly unique, contemporary language that makes it so compelling.
• Possessing an exceptionally strong presence through its stillness and emotional calm
• Stephan Balkenhol is one of Germany’s most sought-after sculptors
A hallmark of Stephan Balkenhol’s sculptures is the successful fusion of tradition and the contemporary. Here, a calmly standing, front-facing figure appears simple at first glance, but reveals a peculiar tension upon closer inspection. With its rough-hewn surface and visible traces of working, the panel as a material remains ever-present – nothing is smoothed or idealised. On closer inspection, an allusion to the Venus de Milo suggests itself. Both figures display a fragmented body – in the case of the Venus, the arms are missing by chance; in Balkenhol’s work, quite deliberately. And in both cases, this is precisely what makes the figure stronger rather than weaker: the gaze lingers, the presence becomes almost even more intense. The difference lies in the tone: the Venus de Milo represents a classical ideal of beauty, smooth, harmonious, timeless in the ancient sense. Balkenhol, on the other hand, brings the figure into the present day – less perfect, more direct, almost a little austere. And yet both have something astonishingly similar: that calm, clear poise that makes an immediate impact without needing to explain much. It is precisely this interplay between a nod to the great tradition and a wholly unique, contemporary language that makes it so compelling.