Friday, May 3, at 6 p.m. Gallery “Meno Parkas” invites you to the opening of the exhibition “Hurt and Healing” organized by the West German Union of Artists (WKB).
Over the years, artistic themes and their various artistic and medial approaches have been repeatedly revised, reformulated or renewed in terms of content and form. The presentation of these positions at appropriate intervals is also the task of the West German Artists’ Union. Many members of this union seek figurative expression of a visual concept in their work in various ways.
In the new exhibition, German authors of different generations exhibit specific methods of realization on the theme of “figurative”. Painting, graphics and sculpture, as well as other cross-media forms, come together in one presentation.
The artists’ visual observations exhibited here reveal individual representations of reality, depicting what is seen, but also opening up to free forms that reveal their intellectual or visual origins. In this case, “figure” is a painterly gesture, the formation of an idea about it. The visitor is offered various approaches to the content, which can expand the picture of reality.
The title of the exhibition “Hurt and Healing” may be an ironic reference to the fact that in the current art scene, the figurative is still often considered an overly old academic creative expression. The selected works and their exhibition aim to convey a different vision, each of them opens up in many tense directions.
The two curators of the exhibition, Heiner Geisbe (Straelen) and Thomas Prautsch (Münster) are themselves painters, whose artistic creations are particularly related to the topic under discussion. They invited 14 colleagues, members of the Union of West German Artists, to reveal their contemporary approach at the exhibition in Kaunas.
Artists participating in the exhibition:
Julia Arztmann (Münster) – painting; Jackie Bamfaste (Weeze) – sculpture; Edgar Eubel, (Recklinghausen) – painting; Friedhelm Falke (Cologne) – painting; Peter Gros (Bochum) – painting; Ulrich Haarlammert (Münster) – photography / video artist; Andrea Küster (Düsseldorf) – painting; Ulrich Langenbach (Zygen) – interdisciplinary art; Marion Nießing (Münster) – photography/painting; Edith Oellers (Düsseldorf) – painting; Stehanie Pech (Bonn) – painting; Silke Rehberg (Münster) – ceramics/sculpture; Elke Seppmann (Munster) – painting; Bernhard Sprute (Bad Oeynhausen) – painting.
This exhibition is part of the nearly 25-year-old partnership between the West German Artists’ Union (WKB) and the gallery “Meno parkas” of the Lithuanian Artists’ Union. During this period, in exchange of mutual projects, relevant artistic expressions were presented in various exhibitions and projects, accompanied by meetings and study visits, between artists from both artists’ unions.
The project is financed by: Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lithuanian Cultural Council, LWL Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe, Werner Richard – Dr. Carl Dörken Foundation.
