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 mostly self-taught multi-media artist and an arts educator, Molzberger started a studio in Wendland, Germany, in 1982, and mounted his first museum exhibition in 1991. His works have been shown throughout Israel, France, Netherlands, Poland, U.S. and Russia. In 1993, he founded Atelierhaus (“studio house”) Hilmsen, a professional arts and humanities residency and nonprofit organization in Hilmsen, Germany (a small hamlet located 10 miles outside the charming medieval town of Salzwedel), after acquiring a plot of land which included a 1906 Gothic farmhouse and several very large dilapidated barns—to be perfect for creating large scale sculpture. While in Hilmsen, he enjoys conducting workshops and engaging with the local community through various programs, and during the academic season, he is an Artist Affiliate at Houston Christian University. Molzberger was a True North artist with the Texas-themed (and sized) sculpture “Retired Cowboy Clown” in 2015. Molzberger’s behemothic and deadly serious “Mantis with Saddle” traveled the seas from Germany to its spot in True North 2026, and a version of this sculpture (titled “Für Walter”) is situated on the grounds of the renowned 13th century Mönchkirche (Monk’s Church) Salzwedel, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. 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. Alone with every need. Such a life demands specialization. Extreme adaptation. A focused, sometimes ruthless existence. The praying mantis has chosen this path. It survives through invisibility. Through patience. Through precision. Its body resembles the plant world more than the animal world. It dissolves into its surroundings. It becomes absence. And then—it waits. Motionless. Silent. Alert. Every movement in its environment is registered. Every vibration analyzed. A perfect system of observation. Of surveillance. Of readiness. Until—in a fraction of a second—stillness becomes action. Observation becomes strike. And life is taken.”