At first sight – New Perspectives on the collection of the Kunsthalle Recklinghausen

At first sight – New perspectives on the collection of the Kunsthalle Recklinghausen

August 28 – November 13, 2022

The Kunsthalle Recklinghausen can draw on a collection of more than 5,000 works. A key focus is on the works of the artist group »junger westen«, founded in Recklinghausen in 1947, and the continuously purchased winners of the art prize of the same name, as well as on a concentrated collection of kinetic art, German informal art and, last but not least, so-called “outsider art“ (“Naive Kunst“ in German) from the environment of the Miners, mainly from the Ruhr area. The question of whether or not these terms still apply today is also relevant to this exhibition.

In the new presentation, "At first sight", the collection establishes for the first time formal relationships between its different focal points as well as bringing to light works from the depots that have never been shown or have not been on view for a long time.

There is a kinetic Günther Uecker with light from 1965 "Homage à Broadway" (purchased in 1967), which was restored this year with funds raised by the Ernst von Siemens Foundation, and is therefore displayed for the first time after many years in storage. Funding from the State of North Rhine-Westphalia also enabled Heinz Mack's "Light Dynamo" (1964) to be restored this year. With Otto Piene’s “Sleepwalker”, also from 1964, and part of the collection the Kunsthalle can show three spectacular works by the three founding fathers of the ZERO group in an important historical ensemble. Furthermore, works by Josef Albers, Andy Warhol or Gotthard Graubner open up new connections within the collection juxtaposed with the so-called “outsider art” sculptor Erich Bödeker or the painter Vivian Ellis. Positions from the historical group »junger westen« (including Hans Werdehausen and Emil Schumacher) are supplemented by the latest acquisitions from the »junger westen« art prize, including works by Jeewi Lee, Berit Schneidereit and Morgaine Schäfer. Furthermore, works by artists such as Ayse Erkmen, Susanne Paelser, Michael Sailstorfer, Timm Ulrichs, Wolf Vostell, Tobias Zielony and works from the Coptic collection of the Icon Museum - next to the Kunsthalle the second house of the municipal museums in Recklinghausen - will be presented for the first time together.

The title "At first sight" not only alludes to the proverbial "love at first sight", which might actually when seeing the works in the collection, but also represents the curatorial and structural modus operandi: they were selected for the first time by museum director Nico Anklam since he took office in the summer of 2021 from the large pool of the municipal collection. The public perception of the Kunsthalle Recklinghausen as a collecting museum has so far lagged behind the contemporary exhibition program of the Kunsthalle. This show intends to change this. In this context, there is also another "first sight", namely that for the public: many visitors from Recklinghausen and the world will probably discover some of the "art treasures in Recklinghausen" (Thomas Grochowiak, 1972) for the first time. For the 75th anniversary of the Kunsthalle in 2025, the focus will once again be on the collection. A newly established research traineeship set up by the museums of the city of Recklinghausen and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in cooperation with the Art History Institute of the University of Cologne will also contribute to this. After 1972 and 1986, the third collection catalog will appear in 2025. "At first sight - new perspectives on the collection of the Kunsthalle Recklinghausen" is actually just the beginning.

Works of Josef Albers, Marina Apollonio, Erich Bödeker, Vivian Ellis, Ayşe Erkmen, Gotthard Graubner, Günther Haese, Alain Jacquet, Jiří Kolář, Jeewi Lee, Max Leiß, Heinz Mack, Susanne Paesler, Otto Piene, Michael Sailstorfer, Morgaine Schäfer, Berit Schneidereit, Nicolas Schöffer, Emil Schumacher, Heinrich Siepmann, Günter Tollmann, Günther Uecker, Timm Ulrichs, Wolf Vostell, Andy Warhol, Hans Werdehausen, Fritz Winter, Tobias Zielony as well as from the collection of christian art of the former Vestisches Museum and the collection of coptic art of the Icon-Museum Recklinghausen.