Sculpting Tales
Holger Lönze is a sculptor working in bronze. His sculpture is a poetic response to Europe's Atlantic seaboard: its rich maritime culture, early literature, archaeology and coastline. The inspiration for his sculpture, lithographs and drawings often comes directly from his sea journeys in self-made canvas boats: the iconic curachs of Ireland. Through his realist style he brings alive the disappearing cultural traditions that he encounters along his path. His experience in the arts and crafts have led him to produce work that is traditional in technique and material whilst being contemporary in concept and context. The importance he places on sustainable living and working shines through his creative practice and his teaching. This ethos is reflected in his use of low-carbon, experimental Bronze Age methods for casting sculpture and the use of regenerative materials and handtools for traditional boat making and wood working.
Holger is available for private, community and public sculpture commissions and workshops (please email for enquiries). He is represented by The Engineroom Gallery, Newtownards Road, Belfast (+44 2890 455184) and the Coloured Rain gallery in Templepatrick, Co. Antrim (+44 2894 439494).
Current Projects |
Environment| Images of Recent Work
Current Projects
Medieval Handbells: Holger's interest in Irish Medieval handbells has led to commissions reproducing archaeological artifacts with authentic methods. Inspired by his sea voyages and archaeological finds he developed the theme of the bell to create the decorated
Sea Bells which are cast using ancient casting methods with carbon neutral fuels and local materials (
Casting). He is currently working on a replica of the
Bangor Bell and a new series od Sea Bells. Listen here to a seven minutes long
RTÉ Lyric FM Culture File broadcast by Eleanor Flegg (6th September 2011):
Recent Projects
Causeway Hospital Commission: Indoor public art commission for Coleraine Hospital based on his work on Medieval handbells, unveiled in December 2011.
Ré Nua: Group exhibition with Artistic Alliance, at The Grainstore at Ballymaloe House, Co. Cork: sculpture and large-scale drawing (more information) inspired by the Otherworld in early Irish literature. The work was developed during a residency at Cill Rialaig, Kerry in early November 2011.
To the People of the Sea: A 14ft high by 18ft long work for Portrush East Strand in sheet bronze and stainless steel where three sails of a traditional Drontheims metamorph into the surface of the sea, installed in February 2011 (more at www.peopleofthesea.info).
Portrait Relieves: Two works commissioned by Coleisland Canal Group and the Iontas Theatre / Artswell, Castleblane -, the 14"x22" low-relief bronze plaques were modelled and cast in Holger's studio foundry..
Gargoyles and Angels: A miniature street sculpture trail for Armagh City inspired by the gargoyles and angels of its two Cathedrals. Twenty-two bronze sculptures were installed across a range of city centre locations (more at www.gargoylesandangels.info).
The Navigators: Also in Armagh, The Navigators, two 7ft high bronze figures holding 12ft oars, were installed in the village of Maghery in the South Western corner of Lough Neagh in July 2010 (more on the Navigators page).
The Shannon Fleet: As part of the artists collaborative Deiseal, two public art commission along the N7 Limerick tunnel and M7 in 2010. The sculptures celebrate the presence of Vikings on the Shannon and consist of 20ft high concrete longship prows and Cor-ten stem heads (www.deiseal.net).
Bronze Age Horns: Holger has been working with Umha Aois project to resolve some of the many mysteries surrounding the production of Bronze-Age horns. He currently experiments with producing replicas of LBA Horns applying a range of possible methods. More on the LBA Horns page.
Sancturay Project: Eight artists from the UK, Ireland and Kenya created work for an exhibition at the National Museum of Kenya, Nairobi in 2011. The focus of Holger's work is on similarities in casting processes and instruments of Northern Europe and East Africa.
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Environmental Ethos
The environmental impact of works of sculpture is relatively low given their permanence, long life cycle and lasting cultural value. This, however, does not exempt artists from seeking greener ways of producing art and to further reduce the carbon emissions and embodied energy in their works. The use of materials in Holger's studio is measured and an Environmental Impact Survey is conducted for every commissioned project including EE and Carbon Emission calculations (sample).
Carbon Footprint
The annual carbon footprint of Holger's studio is as low as 11.2tons (including 7tons resulting from out-sourced fabrication and logistics), owing to a high recycling fraction in his studio processes, the use of gray water and renewable energy sources. Wood gasification for casting will further reduce this figure in the future. Mobile consumption from car travel contributes 2.6tons. About 90% of all materials used in the studio processes are recycled again. (Figures calculated using the Carbon Management Tool of the Irish Environmental Protection Agency)
Environmental Research
Holger researched design-for-sustainability for the Eden Project, Cornwall. He is currently developing sustainable methods for contemporary art practice, particularly small studio foundries. He contributed to Traditional Boats of Ireland (ed. Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh, Collins Press, Dublin, 2008), Water Craft, Resurgence and other publications (full list on the About page) with his inquiries into Irish curachs and their potential as sustainable leisure craft: Boat Making page.
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