01.Biography

Ekkehard Altenburger studied sculpture at the University of the Arts, Bremen, Germany and Edinburgh College of art in Scotland. He graduated in 1999 with an MA from Chelsea College of Art  (University of the Arts) in London. Prior to his academic studies, he worked as master mason at the Gothic Cathedral of Schwabisch Gmund in South Germany. In 2000, he established his studio at APT studios in London, where he worked successfully as a contemporary sculptor.

He has been guest lecturer at Canterbury College of Art and Kingston College and has taught internationally as guest Professor at the University of the Arts, Bremen and Saima University of Applied Sciences, Finland. Altenburger was resident artist at the Sculpture Space in Utica/ NY in 2005 and had a research residency at Saimaa University of Applied Sciences in 2015. He serves as  Assistant Professor for Sculpture  at the Academy of Visual Arts at HKBU since  2017 and lives and works in Hong Kong.

02.Research

Architecture has always influenced his work, which was the main reason for moving to London, to develop a practice very much inspired by the city that constantly inspires, challenges and informs his work. Meeting and filming the then 94-year-old Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer in 2001 in his Office at the Copacabana left a lasting influence.

His work explores the physical balance of the built environment, using architectural references as well as sculptural volumes of physical material. This balance is also represented in the relationship between form and surface of a sculpture. Altenburger often uses texture and colour to manipulate surfaces, adding a further layer of information to a sculptural form.

Many of his productions are in the public domain; he has developed site-specific sculptural works and large-scale urban place making projects both in the UK as well as mainland Europe and Central America.

Examples of Works in public domain, public and private collections include:

Thoughts in a Banked curve   Volkswagen Financial Services UK (2016)

House for a Gordian Knot, University of Nottingham UK (2014)

Sophrosyne I, Harlow Arts Trust UK (2010)

Sophrosyne II, Guatemala City, Museum of Contemporary Art, Guatemala (2010)

Negative Falls with Thames stone, Grosvenor Waterside London Chelsea&Westminster UK (2007- 2010)

Give & Take, Schoepfheim/ Lucerne  (Switzerland) (2007)

1. Exhibitions

Altenburger has exhibited his work in exhibitions and art fairs throughout the UK and beyond. Recent shows include the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London (2020, 2017, 2016);Art Central Hong Kong ( 2019);  Sculpture in the City, the City of London (2015-16); LARES, Saimaa University, Lappeenranta Finland (2015); SWITCH, Pulchri Gallery Den Haag NL (2014); A Change of Heart, Royal Botanic Gardens, Leicester University and Richard Attenborough Centre (2013); Sculpture at Glyndebourne Opera, Glyndebourne (2011) and Museum Rehmann (Switzerland) (2011)

04.Publications

- Corporate mentality- Alexandra Mir and John Kelsey 2003   ISBN 0-9711193-1-7

- Sculpture space (The book) ISBN 97809795596902  Utica, New York 2005

                        - Highjack Reality, Deptford X, ISBN 978-0-9547071-2-5    London 2008

                        - Jerwood drawing prize ISBN 978-0-9563570-0-7  JCF, London, 2009

- Grosvenor Waterside, Cultural Placemaking,  ISBN 978-0-9565690-0-4  (by Jean Wainwright, UCA) 2011  produced by FUTURECITIES

- Art/Laser/Lares     ISBN 978-952-7055-21-2  

Saimaa University of Applied Sciences 2015

- Nanotecture ,Phaidon ISBN: 9780714870601     small-scale architecture 

- Dan Remenyi, 6th e-learning Excellence Awards 2020. P 1-16: Making something from Noting: Creative Strategies for e-learning in Lab- based Environs

05.Awards and achievements

2020                 6^th International e-Learning Excellence Awards 1^st Place

2015                 Laser art residency, Saimaa University of Applied Sciences, Finland

•               Sculpture Space  (New York / Utica) residency programme

2003                 London Visual Arts grant

2002                 Royal Society of British Sculptors Bursary award

2000/2001        Year of the artist residency programme /London

1999                 Video award Bremen 1999

1998/99           DAAD (German Academic Exchange programme) award  Bonn/London

06.Teaching statement

All my teaching is informed by 35 years of constant learning. A trained craftsman, combined with nine years of academic education in three different countries and two decades of working as a practicing artist in London give me a solid platform to base my teaching on. Curiosity and the willingness to constantly evolve as an artist is essential to both teacher and student. Sculpture now is at an interesting crossroads, with materials and methods constantly evolving, students will be challenged to develop their own artistic language based on traditional as well as contemporary skills and technologies. Sculptors and architects have shaped our urban environs, and I will encourage students to become an active part in a discourse as to how humans will shape both the cultural as well as the urban landscape in the future.

07.Artworks

1. Mirror house , mirror and steel, Isle of Tyree, Scotland
2. Twisted Column, Twisted Column QEH Gateshead Portuguese Estremos Marble and Resin based paint
3. House for a Gordian Knot, University of Nottingham, UK
4. Saima Kivi (post box red) powder coated steel (Chateau Dourlour, FR)
5. Thought in a banked curve, Volkswagen Financial Services, UK

1. Personal website

www.altenburger.co.uk

1. Portrait photo

Altenburger is a scholar specializing in the impact of digital fabrication methods, particularly parametric systems, on the aesthetic process. With expertise in various aspects of traditional craft, Altenburger incorporates digital fabrication techniques into the production of his sculptures and wall-based works. Currently, his research interests center on exploring how parametric algorithms shape idea development and the creative process itself.

At present he utilizes parametric algorithms to develop traditional lacquer paintings and in bronze casting. He also spearheads the creation of a state-of-the-art robotics laboratory at the Academy of Visual Arts in Hong Kong, focused on advancing research in the intersection of art and technology.