Stephan Balkenhol “good day”

Opening Reception
Friday, February 14, 5 - 7pm

Tomio Koyama Gallery Kyobashi is pleased to present “good day,” a solo exhibition by German sculptor Stephan Balkenhol.
This will be the artist’s fourth solo exhibition at Tomio Koyama Gallery and his first in six years, and will feature new works by the artist.

About Stephan Balkenhol and his works
A combination of people and animals who seem normal but are not, and minimalist artistic expression

People and animals that look like they could be from anywhere, but with something distinctive about their facial expression and demeanor. Stephan Balkenhol (1957-) has won international acclaim for his minimalist representations of figurative motifs in the form of standing figures and reliefs.

Carved from the wood of a single tree along with the pedestal they stand on, the elaborate, rough surfaces of these works that retain strong traces of his chisel and their coloring leave a lasting impression. Balkenhol’s works have a rich appeal that elicits the humor and introspection of the viewer, as well as a presence that while not difficult, is somehow intriguing.

In an interview for his solo exhibition at the gallery in 2019, Balkenhol said the following about his work.

“With a neutral expression, these figures wear a white shirt and black pants that anyone can wear, unrelated to any social or fashion significance. It is sometimes said that my sculptures are like mirrors, like screens onto which viewers project themselves. Perhaps this is the kind of critique elicited by the expressions on these faces, which seem to freeze moments of everyday life that everyone experiences, and which are open to all kinds of imaginations on the part of the viewer. I try to create works that have nothing to do with political or social messages, which do not have the monumental significance of a statue of a great man placed in a town square, but which have a purely physical presence that reawakens our sense of personal perception. That is what I consider sculpture to be.” *1

Balkenhol has previously shown his work at numerous exhibitions around the world. Major solo exhibitions have been held at the Neue Nationalgalerie (Berlin, Germany, 1994), The Hirshhorn Museum (Washington DC, 1995), the Sprengel Museum (Hanover, Germany, 2003), Deichtorhallen Hamburg (Germany, 2008), Museé de Grenoble (France, 2010), and the Moscow Museum of Modern Art (2016). Museum Jorn (Danmark, 2020), Wilhelm-Lehmbruck-Museum (Duisburg, Germany, 2020), and this year in 2025, he will also hold it at the Rotterdam Art Hall (Netherlands). In Japan, large-scale solo exhibitions in 2005 at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Osaka and Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery attracted much attention.

His works are in the collections of many museums including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt, the National Museum of Art, Osaka, and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.

The following link contains more detailed explanations concerning Balkenhol’s work:
https://tomiokoyamagallery.com/en/artists/stephan-balkenhol/

On the present exhibition and his new works: the materiality and familiarity of wood; Balkenhol’s worldview, which expands through dialogue with viewers and the works

Balkenhol made the following comments regarding the present exhibition.

“When I am invited to show in another country I like to get inspired by its culture and its pictorial treasures. I don’t think this is appropriation, but interest in learning something new, curiosity and gratefulness about this gift: the exchange of cultures.
So, there might be some sculptures and reliefs which relate to Japanese culture, seen through my European eyes, and made by my craftsmanship.”

According to Balkenhol, the pace of creating wooden sculptures, which involves carving the wood by hand, looking and thinking about it before working on it again, is similar to the sensation of drawing, and is most suitable for him.

Japan has had an affinity for wood since ancient times, as well as traditional techniques used for carved wooden Buddhas and the ichiboku-zukuri style that involves carving statues out of the wood of a single tree. The stillness of the facial expressions and the texture of the wood in Balkenhol’s works may give viewers the feeling that they are somehow connected to Japanese culture.

The relationship between the work and the space also constitutes an important perspective for the artist.

“What does sculpture bring to reality? What is important is the relationship between the sculpture and the space. A small work of art may have a greater sense of presence than a huge standing figure, and its image may change depending on the viewer’s mood or the brightness of the day. I consider myself something of a workaholic, but perhaps it is because I am interested in this relationship between the artwork and the world that I feel compelled to continue working.” *1

Rather than imparting some sort of special emotion or message, Balkenhol carves ordinary people out of the familiar material of wood, and refrains from offering an exhaustive narrative surrounding them. This makes his works open and receptive to the emotions of the exhibition space and the viewer. The dialogue between the viewer and the artwork, and the relationship between the artwork and the space, serve to expand Balkenhol’s worldview. We hope you will come and see his latest works.

*1
Ryohei Nakajima, “These expressionless male figures will reflect the state of your mind. Don’t miss sculptor Stephan Balkenhol’s solo exhibition,” Pen Online, 2019

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