Expressionist Woodcuts and Linocuts from the Collection Museum August Macke Haus in Dialogue with Benjamin Badock, Christiane Baumgartner, Gabriela Jolowicz, Christoph Ruckhäberle, Tal R, Gert & Uwe Tobias, Barthélémy Toguo, Georg Winter
12 April to 15 September 2019
As an artistic medium, woodcuts and linocuts intimately reflect of the quintessence of Expressionism. „Unadulterated“ and „pure“ are the expressive characteristics of the print technique that artists of the time rediscovered and employed. On display in the show are works by artists ranging from Erich Heckel, Jacoba van Heemskerk, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Fifi Kreutzer, Franz Marc, Ewald Mataré, Maria Uhden to Evarist Adam Weber and others.
Juxtaposed and in direct dialogue with the Expressionists are eight contemporary perspectives. An aspect of particular fascination today is the age-old print technique, the slow creative process with the knife on the block, the handling of the material. Whether Tal R carves images into a collection of antique breakfast boards to create his Almanach prints, Ruckhäberle cuts wall-paper designs on wood, or Jolowicz produces subtle glimpses into everyday life, reminders of the pioneers of the modern movement are evident. And yet, there is a radical difference in the way the medium is being used. The woodcut has charted new dimensions (Baumgartner, Tobias, Badock), not only in terms of format; plates often serve an additional sculptural function as is the case with Toguo and Winter. In many respects, contemporary works generate spatial effects and may well claim to be called installations.
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue whose layout and production, visual appearance, and surface effects reflect the various aspects of the show. The cooperation with Christoph Ruckhäberle‘s Lubok Verlag in Leipzig continues the tradition of the Expressionist artist almanac.
The exhibition poster has been designed by Benjamin Badock and is published as an original graphic edition.
Curators: Dr. Ina Ewers-Schultz and Dr. Birgit Kulmer