Stephan Balkenhol
Stephan Balkenhol (born 1957) is a German artist who creates figurative painted wooden sculptures and reliefs.
Also recorded as Stefan Balkenhol
Stephan Balkenhol
Leonce49 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Born
- 1957 · Fritzlar.
- Nationality
- Germany
- Occupation
- sculptor · university teacher · photographer · artist · painter · draftsperson
- Languages
- German
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Documentary connections
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
gnd · 7788092-4 · wikidata · Q517388 · wikipedia · Stephan Balkenhol
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The documentary record
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Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek · Getty Union List of Artist Names
Complete reading chain (JSON)In this article
Early life
Early life
Melanie Wiora is recorded as having studied under Stephan Balkenhol. The recorded working language is German. Employment is recorded with Academy of Fine Arts, Karlsruhe. Work by Stephan Balkenhol is recorded in the collections of Belvedere, Art Institute of Chicago, Städel Museum, Museum of Modern Art and Cleveland Museum of Art.
Balkenhol was born in 1957 in Fritzlar, Hesse.
Documentary record
Stephan Balkenhol (born 10 February 1957) is recorded as a draughtsman, painter, photographer and sculptor. Stephan Balkenhol was born on 10 February 1957 in Fritzlar.
Career
Career
He is currently a professor of sculpture at the State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe (Germany). He lives and works in Karlsruhe, Germany, and Meisenthal, France.
Documentary record
According to the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, the recorded places of activity of Stephan Balkenhol are Karlsruhe and Hamburg.
Artistic style
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
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 (Venice, Italy), “Big Man with a Little Man” for Pariser Platz (Berlin, Germany), “Man and Woman” for Hamburg Central Library (Hamburg, Germany), “Everyman” for the Edinburgh City Council Offices (Edinburgh, Scotland) and “Toronto Man” (Toronto, Canada).
Hafenfähre Tollerort Linie 62 vor Övelgönne, davor 1 "Bojenmann" (Figur von Stephan Balkenhol)
Eduard47
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1957
Stephan Balkenhol was born in 1957 at Fritzlar.
2000
Meeting with Stephan Balkenhol is dated 2000.
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 7788092-4, Ausstellung Stephan Balkenhol (2006-2007).
General reference · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
- VIAF cluster 5016203 for Stephan Balkenhol, aggregating national library name authorities.
General reference · OCLC
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q517388: Stephan Balkenhol
Reputable secondary · Wikimedia Foundation
- “Stephan Balkenhol”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
scholarly publication
- Balkenhol, Stephan, Benezit Dictionary of Artists, 2011
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2011
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Stephan Balkenhol, revision 266672836 (DE edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Costello, Diarmuid. 'Die Schönheit des Mittelmenschen: Stephan Balkenhol's "everyman" sculptures'. Art History. 48. 1. 132–161. 2025. 10.1093/arthis/ulaf012.
- 2.The Indefinite and Universal Figures of Stephan Balkenhol. 9 February 2019.
- 3.STEPHAN BALKENHOL. Stiftung für Kunst und Kultur e.V.
- 4.Stonard, John-Paul. Balkenhol, Stephan. Oxford University Press. 2000-10-12. 10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t096692.
- 5.Stephan Balkenhol. "Big Head-Column". www.guggenheim-venice.it.
- 6.Art@Site true-self Stephan Balkenhol, Grosser Mann mit kleinem Mann, Berlin. www.artatsite.com.
- 7.Stephan Balkenhol: Mann und Frau Kunst@SH. 2018-05-29.
- 8.Everyman Art UK. artuk.org.
- 9.Heather, Rosemary. Look closer at the Toronto Man sculpture on St. Clair West - NOW Magazine. NOW Toronto. 2019-12-17.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Balkenhol, Stephan, Benezit Dictionary of Artists, 2011Crossref registry
Institutional witnessauthority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 7788092-4, Ausstellung Stephan Balkenhol (2006-2007).Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Secondary witnessauthority file
Secondary witnessreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q517388: Stephan BalkenholWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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