Kempten - The festival exhibition became the exhibition "Art from the Allgäu".
Museum director Dr.
Christine Müller Horn.
Vacationers with a mask are “Lost in Paradise”, “Digging for Gold or the search for happiness”.
Some of the pieces in the “Festival Week Exhibition”, which can be seen in the large exhibition room in the Alpine Museum, have a slight melancholy, perhaps even bitterness, in the title.
A yardstick?
Some works seem to reveal more of the artist's life and its vulnerability than has been the case in recent years. Museum director Dr. Christine Müller Horn designed the huge wooden construction by Guido Weggenmann, a replica of a wooden gold panning system with a funnel and a motor-driven drum. This is set in motion by means of a timer. "He had just started building it when the art arcades had to close," says Müller Horn. The possibility of setting up the work at another exhibition for a live audience was also lost due to the corona - most of the cultural life moved to the Internet last year. “But art also needs an audience that is there,” says Müller Horn.Online presentations are no substitute for this.
Providing a platform for artists
The time was very difficult, especially for full-time artists, reports Müller Horn.
After the pandemic year 2020, which suddenly took away the visibility of many artists, it is now all the more important to offer the Allgäu artists a platform, "no matter what efforts are waiting for you with hygiene concepts and the like".
There were actually complications: the exhibition has been given a new, later date.
Due to the closings and the culture lockdowns of the past year, there were congestion in the calendar of events.
The exhibition “Art for Kempten” by the Friends of the Kemptener Museen eV was only able to open its doors late in 2021 instead of last November.
Therefore, the art exhibition "slipped back a bit".
The winners "Art from the Allgäu 2021"
According to Müller Horn, both the exhibition and the award winners have succeeded in depicting a “cross-section of the Allgäu art scene”.
This also reflects the fact that photography is now taking up a much larger space than it used to be.
This year, Elisabeth Bader from Kempten will be awarded the City of Kempten Art Prize (endowed with 5,000 euros).
She had presented the works "Untitled (Silence)" and "Rebellious".
Stefan Winkler (from Argenbühl, Christazhofen) received the exhibition grant from the Sparkasse Allgäu (endowed with 2,000 euros) for his paintings “Mountain Landscape” and “Abstract (white)”.
Nikolaus Faßlrinner (from Haldenwang) was honored with the Dr. Rudolf Zorn Foundation's sponsorship award (endowed with 3,000 euros) for the three-part work “Traumdickicht” and “Berglandschaft mit Palme”.
Guido Weggenmann from Kempten receives the Thomas Dachser Memorial Prize (endowed with 4,000 euros) for “Digging for Gold or the search for happiness” and the sculpture “A big ear, title was?”.
Familiar faces and new potential
“You actually see some artists every year,” says Müller Horn.
She also likes the fact that some of the former award winners, such as Angelika Böhm-Silberhorn and Isolde Egger, can still be seen here in the exhibition.
It is valuable when you "see artists grow up and see how the potential that the jury has recognized continues to develop".
That, too, is an important task of the prizes: to support the artists and to encourage them to continue and develop.
158 artists submitted a total of 274 works.
For the exhibition, the jury selected 66 works by 48 artists for the exhibition, across the art genres and styles: painting, graphics, sculptures, photographs, installations and image objects made it into the final selection.
The jury consists partly of artists and partly of employees from museums and curators.
It is this mixture that enables different perspectives on the submitted works.
The fact that some jury members are not familiar with the Allgäu art scene and the better-known names here is particularly valuable.
Because the outside view sharpens the focus on quality.
And that is clearly recognizable in the exhibition, says Müller Horn happily.
“Art from the Allgäu 2021”: audience award
One final prize has not yet been awarded: visitors can vote for the audience award until Thursday, October 14th.
Anyone wishing to visit the exhibition in the large exhibition room in the Alpin Museum can do so from September 21 to October 15, Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission is free.
The 3G rule applies: Only those who have been vaccinated, recovered or tested are allowed to visit the exhibition.
A mask is compulsory when visiting the exhibition (medical mask or FFP2 mask).
Contact details are recorded, the currently applicable distance and hygiene rules must be observed.
Art in the Allgäu: guided tour and accompanying program
Visitors can explore the art exhibition Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. alone or discover contemporary works of art on guided tours with art educators.
There is also the opportunity to get to know the award winners during artist talks.
Conversations with artists
• Wednesday, September 22nd, 4 p.m., with Guido Weggenmann, Thomas Dachser Commemorative Prize Winner 2021
• Tuesday, September 28th, 4 pm, with Nikolaus Faßlrinner, winner of the Dr. Rudolf Zorn Foundation 2021
• Tuesday, October 5th, 4 pm, with Dorothea Klug-Faßlrinner, Art Prize Winner of the City of Kempten 2020
• Sunday, October 10th, 3 pm, with Elisabeth Bader, Art Prize Winner of the City of Kempten 2021, additionally with a sign language interpreter
guides
One hour for art: every Sunday at 1 p.m. (free).
Private tours can also be booked (for a fee).
Children's program - art under the microscope
• Saturday, September 25th, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. (for children from 6 years)
• Saturday, October 9th, 10 am to 12 pm (for children from 6 years of age);
Participation fee: four euros.
The “Art under the microscope” offer can also be booked for groups of children (up to twelve children) on a desired date.
School class program
Guided tours for school classes as part of the lessons can be booked free of charge.
Duration: 60 minutes.
Registration is required for all events, by calling 0831/25 25-7777 or by email museen@kempten.de.
Registrations for the Sunday tours and the children's program no later than Friday, 12 noon, before the respective event.
