Sculpture "Unicorn" (2020), bronze
Sculpture "Unicorn" (2020), bronze
Quick info
limited, 24 copies | signed | numbered | patinated and painted | bronze | size 34.5 x 53 x 21.5 cm (h x w x d)
Detailed description
Sculpture "Unicorn" (2020), bronze
Bronze sculpture, 2020. Edition: 24 copies patinated and painted, numbered and signed by hand. Height: 34.5 cm. Width: 53 cm. Depth: 21.5 cm.
Producer: ars mundi Edition Max Büchner GmbH, Bödekerstraße 13, 30161 Hanover, Germany, [email protected]
About Stephan Balkenhol
In the field of figurative sculpture, Stephan Balkenhol is one of Germany's most significant and internationally successful artists. Collectors all over the world covet his works. Especially in the USA, he and his works are popular. The prices for his works are consistently rising.
The human being is the focus of his works. Balkenhol deliberately avoids the clear depiction of emotions in the faces of his figures. He refuses to dictate specific feelings and interpretations. The viewer is encouraged to discover the stories behind the faces that gaze into nothingness.
Wood is the artist's favourite material. Soft woods such as poplar or wawa wood allow the artist to precisely carve out the faces of his figures. The material always remains recognisable, and the processing retains a rough structure beneath the painted surface.
Stephan Balkenhol, born in Fritzlar, Germany in 1957, studied at the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg. His work is celebrated in exhibitions in major art capitals such as New York, Tokyo, London, Madrid and Berlin.
An alloy of copper with other metals (especially with tin) used since ancient times. It is an ideal metal for high-quality artistic castings, capable of enduring for millennia.
When casting bronze, the artist usually applies the lost-wax technique which is dating back more than 5000 years. This is the best, but also the most complex method of producing sculptures.
First, the artist forms a model of their work. This model is embedded in a liquid silicone rubber mass. Once the material has solidified, the model is cut out, leaving a negative mould. Liquid wax is then poured into the negative mould. After cooling down, the wax cast is removed from the mould, provided with sprues and dipped into ceramic mass. The ceramic mass is hardened in a kiln, where the wax melts away (lost mould).
Finally, the negative mould is ready, into which the 1400° C hot molten bronze is poured. After the bronze had cooled down, the ceramic shell is broken apart, reavoling the sculpture.
Next, the sprues are removed, the surfaces are polished, patinated and numbered by the artist or by a specialist, following their instructions. Thus, each casting is an original work.
For lower-quality bronze castings, the sand casting method is often used, which, however, does not achieve the results of a more elaborate lost-wax technique in terms of surface characteristics and quality.
A plastic work of sculptural art made of wood, stone, ivory, bronze or other metals.
While sculptures made of wood, ivory, or stone are carved directly from the material block, in bronze casting, a working model is prepared at first. Usually, it is made of clay or other easily mouldable materials.
The prime time of sculpture after the Greek and Roman antiquity was the Renaissance. Impressionism gave a new impulse to the sculptural arts. Contemporary artists such as Jorg Immendorf, Andora, and Markus Lupertz also enriched sculptures with outstanding works.