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Holger Christian Lönze (born 1968) is an Irish sculptor, and is known for working in materials such as bronze. He has had residencies at has had many exhibitions of his work, both in Ireland and internationally also, including the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain (see below).

Early Life
Lönze was born in the town of Schmallenberg, Germany. He was originally trained as a funiture maker, going on to study at the Detmold School of Architecture under the sculptor Axel Seyler, where Lönze became his assistant.

Early Career
Lönze left Germany at the age of 27, where he attended the University of Ulster in Belfast, and studied lithography and sculpting, going onto writing his PhD thesis on ‘visual perception and time in sculpture’. He then moved to Cornwall, UK, where became a researcher in environmental design for Eden Project and Falmouth College of Arts, where he also started designing and building boats (see below).

Work in Public Places
Lönze’s work in public areas started in the early 2000s:


 * Comber, 2001
 * Kinnego Marina, 2006
 * Ballyhaise, 2007
 * Maghery, 2008
 * Oxford Island, 2008 - 2009
 * Lough Gur, 2009
 * Armagh, 2010
 * Limerick, 2010 - 2011
 * Portrush, 2011
 * Coleraine, 2012
 * Bushmills, 2013
 * Strabane, 2013
 * Derry, 2014
 * Chelsea Flower Show, 2014
 * Belfast, 2015
 * Camlough, 2015
 * Benburb, 2015
 * Coom an Chiste, 2017
 * Bangor, 2017
 * Camden, 2017
 * Kells, 2017
 * Winchester, 2018
 * Waterville, 2019
 * Westhill, 2019
 * Myshall, 2019
 * Geashill, 2019
 * Dublin, 2020
 * Ballymakenny, 2021
 * Clondalkin, 2023

Gallery Work

 * Portrait work by Lönze include casts and sculptures of individuals, mostly of revered Irish figures, including Aodh mór Ó Neill, Myles an gCoppaleen, Jim Canning, John McArdle, Heinrich Böll, Jonny Johnson, William Conor, Michael Hartnett and John McCormack.
 * The Atlantean Series was a group of sculptures by Lönze, which related to themes of maritime and the sea, and “explore the human condition of man versus nature, confined to land yet drawn to sea and sky”.
 * The Seabell Series was a collection of handbells, based upon Irish medieval bells from the 7th to 12 centuries. Using the main form and shape of handbells, Lönze created a wave pattern over the top, as a “reference to the sea voyages of early Christian monks and the pre-Christian 'imramma' journeys in Early Irish literature”.
 * The Suibhne Series was based upon the 12th century legend of Buile Shuibhne, or The Frenzy of Sweeney. Lönze made the one of the sculptures out of a base material of repoussé bronze, before overlaying plastic silage foil, (“a critical reference to the extend of plastic used and polluting our agrarian and maritime environment”), while the others crafted out of bronze only.
 * The Bran Series was a collection of figurative work, which was based upon the the early Irish text Imram Brain, which was one story from the Immrama category (see above).

Graphic Work

 * For the Suibhne Suite, part of the Suibhne Series (see above), Lönze also completed a series of ten drawings of birds in a charcoal medium.
 * Various wood engravings with different subjects.
 * Lithography, with Lönze describing the “physicality of the stone, it's texture, volume, mass and tactility respond[ing] well to the needs of the sculptor”.
 * Lönze has also described his progression into the medium of digital drawing, and using software such as Procreate to develop numerous concepts and designs, including for the Atlantean Series (see above).