Holger Lönze
Based in West Cork, Holger Lönze first studied architecture before turning to printmaking and sculpture at the University of Ulster, Belfast where he completed his studies with a PhD. After working as a researcher for the Eden Project, Cornwall, he returned to Ireland in 2004 to work predominantly on public commissions and as artist in residence for various county councils. The wind-driven wave on the surface of the ocean yields an elemental metaphor for the shaping of materials by the sculptor’s hands. It conveys the ancient fundamentals of sculpture that are used to model clay and to form metal: movement, rhythm, mass and volume. It is not surprising, therefore, that the wave is a powerful and archetypal image which recurs within Holger’s work together with imagery of boats, sails, birds and fish – as living on the west coast of Ireland the sea plays a central role in his life. His work is a poetic response to Europe’s Atlantic seaboard: from the legendary protagonists of its early literature to its folklife traditions steeped in rich maritime culture and heritage.
