STEPHAN BALKENHOL
in Conversation with Rene Spielberger

Rene Spiegelberger: During my visit to the studio, I was able to be there when you painted the first prototype of our MANN & FRAU BRONZEN series. As the faces took shape, I had the feeling that you had breathed life into them. Are the faces a key moment in the creative process?

Stephan Balkenhol: The gaze transforms the figure into a counterpart, into something that looks back at you. I see my works as wooden mirrors; they are both a projection surface and a moment of reflection. They provide an opportunity for self-questioning and for imagining what is shown—the gaze is crucial for this.

RS: In the early 1980s, the formula “figurative, aesthetic, and classic materials” could have been summed up as a recipe for artistic failure. During those years, however, you celebrated your breakthrough and were able to establish yourself in the long term with precisely that approach. What happened there?

SB: During my studies, it was downright frowned upon to work figuratively, because figurative sculpture no longer had a place in the art of the 1970s. It was a kind of dictum: art must be autonomous from representation. This prohibition appealed to me, as did the idea of questioning the tradition of figurative sculpture, which had been torn down in modernism, and reinterpreting it with changed signs. It is something primal in humans to explore and ascertain reality and one's own existence through images—be they drawings, paintings, sculptures, photographs, etc. Why should this no longer be possible? That was and is the vision that has carried me through my creative process and continues to inspire me to this day. In doing so, I have avoided allowing sculpture to become a vehicle for sociological or religious messages, as was common in earlier centuries. My sculptures confront the viewer with openness and ambivalence and thus represent more of a question than an answer. It is only through the viewer's gaze that the sculpture is filled with content.RS: You studied under Ulrich Rückriem, one of the leading representatives of German minimalist and conceptual art. Artistically speaking, the entire spectrum of sculptural expression lies between the two of you. Did he encourage you as a teacher on your path to figurative form?

SB: My teacher Ulrich Rückriem also started out figuratively, then moved toward radical reduction and back to concrete form that no longer depicts anything. I took the opposite path. I start with the material and then arrive at the figure. But despite the apparent contrast, there are parallels, for example in terms of material. I use the material in such a way that it is clear which trunk the figure comes from. The log is often left as the base of the pedestal. Beat Wyss wrote that iconoclasm is nothing more than a negative form of image worship: by not showing something, you still address it and reveal the power or force that can emanate from it, or perhaps also the fear that exists in relation to it.

When Rückriem takes a stone and splits it to give it structure, he creates volumes that could potentially contain a human being. This is kept very open and, of course, has nothing to do with figures at first—but it definitely has to do with people. All art has to do with people and originates from them. Rückriem challenged and inspired me on my path because, under his guidance, I had to explore this question in a much more fundamental way. I'm not sure if I would have come to figurative art if I had studied under a teacher who works figuratively.RS: Subtle humor and concrete eroticism are two wonderful constants in your work. When do you use them? Does the dosage follow a certain rhythm or does it depend on the mood?

SB: My characters are an expression of my search for the essential characteristics of being human in all its facets. This includes subtle humor and concrete eroticism as well as concrete humor and subtle eroticism... I have no objection whatsoever to people taking my work with a sense of humor. On the contrary, humor is something that helps us to examine and decipher existential questions on a different level.

RS: Despite the low threshold suggested by their titles, MANN & FRAU have become signature pieces and universally understood symbols of contemporary art. What characterizes these two works and makes them so successful?

SB: My sculptures are prototypes of human beings. They transcend time and society. Based on my observations, experiences, and emotions, I try to formulate the moments of my perception of the world in my sculptures in such a general and universal way that others can relate to them. In the sculptures, we recognize our own vulnerability, indecision, doubt, and powerlessness, but also our curiosity, our desire, our wit, and ultimately our finitude.

RS: The craftsmanship involved in working with wood is a significant feature of your work. Could you explain the working process and the significance of the visible tool marks in more detail?

SB: Compared to stone or clay, wood is neither too hard nor too soft. Wood allows me to work directly with it, which gives me a great deal of freedom: I don't have to delegate any of the work steps or artistic decisions, but can do every step myself, whether it's splitting the wood, sawing it, or painting it. As a sculptor, I think with my hands, and the material determines the speed of my thinking. If I were to work with stone, it would take me far too long, and I am—admittedly—far too impatient. Clay, on the other hand, is often too willing for me, because it eagerly picks up every fingerprint and an impression forms.

RS: You work with both wood and bronze. Can you describe how you choose the right material for a work and what considerations play a role in this?

SB: The decision depends on the location and purpose. Bronze is recommended for outdoor sculptures for reasons of durability, as well as for smaller-format editions. Although I never cast wooden figures, but instead make models from clay, wax, or plaster for bronze sculptures, the style of the surface is similar to that of wooden sculptures. I use tools I have made myself to hammer, scratch, and cut the soft material while modeling.

RS: Your sculptures are omnipresent in public spaces. Do you visit one or the other occasionally when you are in the neighborhood?

SB: Of course, I always enjoy looking at my work again and again. It's like visiting grown-up children who now lead their own lives in their respective locations.

© All photos by Helge Mundt

Full interview and more information PArt foundation and NZZ.