Art & Culture
Balkenhol's Man on Seahorse
The man on the seahorse turns his gaze to the Gallery Stihl Waiblingen. A fabulous water creature from the Rems looks at the ensemble of gallery and art school. It creates a connection between river and city. The "equestrian statue on water" - as the artist Stephan Balkenhol calls it - is a donation by the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the gallery.
"With this artwork, the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation elevates the Rems to a place of art and culture. The grandiose work of Stephan Balkenhol will be an eye-catcher. It is another piece of the mosaic in the cultural profile of the city of Waiblingen, which has received important impulses from the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation for many years and is supported by it."
The figure itself has a height of 3.60 meters, in addition, the buoy protrudes about 50 centimeters from the water. The total weight of figure and buoy is about 3,500 kilograms. This is the artist's largest floating work. The buoy is attached to two concrete anchors, each weighing around 10 tons, which were sunk onto the riverbed of the Rems.
Balkenhol likes to place his works in unusual locations in public urban space. His figures show no clearly recognizable emotions. This allows the viewer to reflect their own feelings, wishes and hopes.
