Hans Molzberger was born in Höhr-Grenzhausen in Germany’s Rhineland region where his family has lived and worked in the manufacture of industrial ceramics for many generations. A multi-media artist and an arts educator, Molzberger started a studio in Wendland, Germany, in 1982, and mounted his first museum exhibition in 1991. In 1993, he founded Atelierhaus (studio house) Hilmsen, Germany, a professional arts and humanities residency and nonprofit organization, and during the academic season, he returns to Houston as an Artist Affiliate at Houston Christian University. Molzberger was a True North artist in 2015 with the Texas-themed (and sized) sculpture “Retired Cowboy Clown.” This year’s behemothic and deadly serious “Mantis with Saddle” has traveled the seas from Germany to its spot on Heights Boulevard. Molzberger tells us, “Insects mirror us with astonishing clarity. Some live in perfectly organized societies—ants, bees—highly structured, highly cooperative, the individual absorbed into the whole. Others live alone. No division of labor. No shared responsibility. Only themselves. The praying mantis has chosen this path. It survives through invisibility. Through patience. Through precision. Motionless. Silent, Alert….”