Stephan Balkenhol

German artist Stephan Balkenhol (born 1957 in Fritzlar, lives and works between Karlsruhe, Germany, and Meisenthal, France) has been producing polychrome wooden sculptures since the 1980's human or animal figures, sometimes hybrid, men and women of today in simple poses, standing statues or portrait busts. By choosing to carve wood like an artisan and to bring forth realistic-looking figures, Balkenhol breaks with a certain tradition of abstract and minimal contemporary sculpture, and takes up a place apart in the current art scene.