Max Ernst: Zwischenwelten
November 20, 2021–February 20, 2022
Burgstr. 9
88212 Ravensburg
Germany
Hours: Tuesday 2–6pm
Wednesday and Friday–Sunday 11am–6pm
Thursday 11am–7pm
T +49 751 822685
kunstmuseum@ravensburg.de
Caroline Achaintre: Shiftings
The first solo exhibition by Caroline Achaintre (b. 1969) at a museum in Germany offers insights into the impressive oeuvre of the German-French artist. Her ceramics, watercolors and imposing, large-format tapestries are invitations to participate in the free play of imaginative power. Shiftings, the title of the exhibition, alludes not only the fact that Achaintre translates techniques such as tapestry or ceramics into the present, but also to her constant exploration of the borders between abstraction and figuration. Coming to the fore in Achaintre’s works are geometrical, mask-like formations and marvelous, apparently animal figures that put to question our preconceived perspectives and classical attributions. The enchanting aura of Achaintre’s hybrid creatures has its source in their ambiguity; their beauty arises out of their perturbing impact.
The exhibition and the accompanying catalogue is a collaboration with the Pasquart Kunsthaus Centre d‘art, Biel, Switzerland and is receiving additional support from the Henry Moore Foundation and the Institut français Deutschland.
Max Ernst: Zwischenwelten
As one of the versatile inventors of Surrealism, Max Ernst (1891–1976) numbers among the most important artistic personalities of the 20th century. Throughout his life, his oeuvre was marked by intellectual curiosity, exuberant delight in experimentation, and a joy in playful transformation. With more than 50 works, the presentation extends from his beginnings in Rhenish Expressionism all the way to his spectacular late graphical work; it provides insights into Max Ernst’s sculptural production and issues an invitation to immerse oneself in the sleepwalking, intermediate worlds of his painting. The exhibition—with a special focus on the 1920s and 1950s—consists primarily of works from the Kunstmuseum Bonn, especially from the Sammlung Wilfried und Gisela Fitting of the Kunstmuseum, a collection which Prof. Dr. med. Fitting and his wife started assembling during the 1960s into what has today become a representative cross-section.
In the framework of the opening, the Justus Bier Prize for Curators 2020 will be presented for the exhibition and catalogue Mondjäger: Nathalie Djurberg & Hans Berg in Dialogue with Asger Jorn (October 19, 2019–February 16, 2020, Kunstmuseum Ravensburg) to Ute Stuffer and Axel Heil. The Justus Bier Preis is offered by the Helga-Pape-Stiftung Jens und Helga Howaldt; each year since 2009—in memory of the art historian Justus Bier (1899–1990)—it has been awarded by an independent jury for outstanding curatorial achievements in the German-language space.
Accompanying program
Thursday, December 2, 7pm
Lecture by Dr. Judith Elisabeth Weiss
“Compulsive Repetition? Max Ernst and the Return of Things”
Art historian and curator, Berlin
Thursday, December 16, 7pm
Artist’s Conversation, Caroline Achaintre
Digital; link will be announced on the homepage of the museum.
Thursday, January 20, 7pm
Lecture by Orianne Durand
“Caroline Achaintre: The Uncanny Beauty of Monsters”
Art historian and curator, Marseille
February, specific date to be announced
In Dialogue with Dr. Volker Adolphs
Guided tour of Max Ernst exhibition
Assistant Director, Kunstmuseum Bonn
