Holger Walter (born September 26, 1968, in

Lauffen am Neckar Lauffen am Neckar () or simply Lauffen is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is on the river Neckar, southwest of Heilbronn. The town is famous as the birthplace of the poet Friedrich Hölderlin and for its qu ...

) is a German sculptor based in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Early life and education

Holger Walter's birthplace stood on the site of a former

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

where the famous German poet

Friedrich Hölderlin Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticism. Part ...

was born.L'Est Républicain / France: Didier Hemardinquer: Salut (fraternel) à Hölderlin, Mai 30, 2013 His father (1933–1980) came from the eastern

Oberlausitz Upper Lusatia (german: Oberlausitz ; hsb, Hornja Łužica ; dsb, Górna Łužyca; szl, Gōrnŏ Łużyca; pl, Łużyce Górne or ''Milsko''; cz, Horní Lužice) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the ...

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

and was ''

Heimatvertriebene The German Expellees or ''Heimatvertriebene'' (, "homeland expellees") are 12-16 million German citizens (regardless of ethnicity) and ethnic Germans (regardless of citizenship) who fled or were expelled after World War II from parts of Germ ...

r'' after World War II. Walter grew up among idyllic vineyards with a brother and a sister. His home was located quite near to the

Neckarwestheim Nuclear Power Plant Neckarwestheim Nuclear Power Station is a nuclear power plant in Neckarwestheim, Germany, sometimes abbreviated GKN (for german: Gemeinschaftskraftwerk Neckar), operated by EnBW Kernkraft GmbH, a subsidiary of EnBW. GKN 1 Unit I, in service si ...

which was built in an old quarry at that time. He was trained as a

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

in a quarry and after that studied sculpture at the State Academy of Fine Arts in

from 1990 to 1996. Walter was awarded a DAAD -scholarship to Japan and worked at

Tama Art University or is a private art university located in Tokyo, Japan. It is known as one of the top art schools in Japan. History The forerunner of Tamabi was Tama Imperial Art School (多摩帝国美術学校, Tama Teikoku Bijutsu Gakkō) founded in 1935 ...

in Tokyo from 1997 to 1998. He gave lectures at the HafenCity University

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and the

Tokyo. He married the Japanese pianist Tomoyo Okamoto in 2001. They have three children.Hans Gercke, Ursula Merkel: ''Holger Walter Ex_Cavations'', Karlsruhe 2009

Work

His works are rooted in complex perceptions. These include observing

topographic Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary scie ...

and geological events and experiencing the forces of nature, such as water and ice, as well as their uncontrollable power represented by earthquakes and

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

es. His works are also influenced by issues related to ''

Heimat ''Heimat'' () is a German word translating to 'home' or 'homeland'. The word has connotations specific to German culture, German society and specifically German Romanticism, German nationalism, German statehood and regionalism so that it ha ...

'' and identity, digital revolution and poetry. Having grown up in the same town as Hölderlin, his childhood experiences were similar to the poet's, sharing images and impressions. Many of his works can be considered a sort of dialogue with Hölderlin. Holger Walter works with resistant materials which he transforms through clear-cut radical interventions. Stone sculptures preserve their natural skin and crust, so that they look like sections hewn out of a bigger framework. He employs different types of stones from various regions around the world and sometimes even other materials such as glass and steel. His creative output extends beyond sculpture and includes drawing and frottage whose essence is similar to that of his sculptures: soaring motifs break free from the ground thus bringing a poetic element into his work. A decisive attitude and a peculiar formal language are typical of all his artistic expressions. In recent years he has created ''drifting sculptures'' (1997–2002) in Japan / Germany and works exploring different themes such as ''tunnel'', ''cave'', ''section'' (2003–2008), ''excavations'', ''hidden spaces'' (2009–2010), ''waves'', ''currents'', ''rhythms'', ''ice age stones'' and ''inner dimension'' (since 2011).official, http://www.holger-walter-atelier.de/Englisch/index.html Approaches to Hölderlin's imagery In 2013 he exhibited the outcomes of his artistic dialogues with Hölderlin's poems and their common birthplace in

at the

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...

Nancy, France Nancy ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Nanzisch'' is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the northeastern Departments of France, French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It was the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, which was Lorraine and Barrois, an ...

. Through visual means he tries to connect with Hölderlin's poetry and pay tribute to his highest artistic achievements. In this connection, senses are essential to approach the poet's thought and imagery. In 2013 he created works inspired by fragments of Hölderlin's river poems, such as ''the enchained current '' and ''the rage of currents''.

Solo exhibitions (selection)

* 2013 Goethe-Institut Nancy / France * 2009 Seitz & Partner Gallery Berlin * 2007 Inga Kondeyne Gallery Berlin * 2003 Knecht Gallery Karlsruhe * 1997 Kunstverein Wilhelmshöhe Ettlingen

Collections

* Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe * Musée du design et d'arts appliqués contemporains, MUDAC, Lausanne / Switzerland * Seolbong Sculpture Park Icheon / South Korea

Literature

* Hans Gercke: ''Der Berg'', Heidelberger Kunstverein, Kehrer, Heidelberg, 2002, p. 528,529, * Axel Heil, Harald Klingelhöller: ''150 Jahre Staatl. Akademie d. Bildenden Künste Karlsruhe'', 2004, p. 235,335, * Hans Gercke, Ursula Merkel: ''Holger Walter Ex_Cavations'', Karlsruhe 2009 * Chantal Prod'Hom: ''Le verre vivant'', MUDAC, La Bibliothèque des Arts, Lausanne 2013, p. 24,

References

*Hans Gercke, Ursula Merkel: ''Holger Walter Ex_Cavations'', Karlsruhe 2009

External links

*
Gallery website
at

German National Library The German National Library (DNB; german: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to colle ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walter, Holger 1968 births Living people People from Lauffen am Neckar 20th-century German sculptors 20th-century German male artists German male sculptors 21st-century German sculptors 21st-century German male artists