Ludwig Forum Aachen openings in April
Three exhibitions show the Collection
22 April 2012–23 April 2013
Opening:
Sunday, 22 April 2012 at 12pm
Ludwig Forum Aachen
Jülicher Straße 97-109
52070 Aachen, Germany
www.ludwigforum.de
Terrains d’une Collection
From New York to Beijing
The exhibition shines a new light on the collection strategies of Peter and Irene Ludwig under geopolitical aspects. Starting with the early acquisitions in Western Europe and New York in the sixties, their collecting activities later led them to Eastern Europe and finally to China and Cuba. The bandwidth of the presented works span art from Western European art since the 1960s, to Pop Art, Bad Painting and Appropriation to art from the former GDR and USSR up to the emerging Chinese and Cuban art scene during the 1980s and 90s.
During the 1960s and 70s, the Ludwigs spent a lot of time in New York on business. In the early 1970s, they travelled several times to East Germany and bought art through the state-run art trade organization. In 1997 the “Altes Museum” in East Berlin, in return, began to show “Western Art” from the Ludwig Collection.
Subsequently, Ludwig’s interest in art from socialist countries increased. In 1978, visits to Moscow and Leningrad were on his schedule. Acquisitions in the USSR were followed by purchases in Bulgaria and Hungary from 1983 on. Finally they travelled through China and Cuba to pursue their collecting activities. For the first time, “Terrains” shows the span and variety of this collection in its global cultural dimension.
Exhibition curators: Dr. Brigitte Franzen, Holger Otten
It’s your choice
Highlights of the Collection
The Ludwig Collection with its more than 14,000 works in total is one of the most comprehensive and most important art collections in the world. The collection of the Ludwig Forum alone comprises around 3,000 pieces. Among these are many works that appear in every book on the history of art and have become part of the global art heritage of the 20th century. In its unique presentation, the Ludwig Forum will show the favourite works of our local visitors. In cooperation with the local newspapers, everyone could choose his personal highlight from 68 artworks. Next to many ‘classics’ in the collections, new acquisitions with works by Nairy Baghramian, Michel Majerus and Gary Winogrand could be chosen too. Almost 1,200 people took part in the poll, either online or by mail. The choice shows the strong identification with the museum and the works in its collection.
The undisputed favourite of Aachen’s citizens is the “Supermarket Shopper” by Duane Hanson from 1970. On the first five ranks we can find Gerhard Richter’s “Permutations 1-1024″, Chuck Close’s “Richard”, Andy Warhol’s “Portrait Peter Ludwig” and “I know how you must feel, Brad…” by Roy Lichtenstein. But the locals are not hooked on Pop Art alone. William Wegman, A.R. Penck and Georg Baselitz can be found on the upper ranks as well.
Exhibition curator: Dr. Brigitte Franzen
LUFONAUTS
An Exhibition for Children
LUFONAUTS is dedicated to our youngest visitors, though not exclusively. The exhibition of works from the collection is made for a child’s view of the world. The presentation is set up at eye level for children in the literal sense of the word and thus leads to a change of perspective. The otherwise somewhat austere exhibition rooms are furnished with cushions that invite the visitors to sit or lie down and paint themselves. LUFONAUTS explores the wide subject of “other worlds”. Roman Signer, Jörg Schulthess, Peter Fischli, and David Weiss conjure in their photographs, films and drawings a surreal world that appears in everyday life. Bruce Nauman and his “Coltrane Piece” play with the magic of the invisible that can only be guessed. Uwe Pfeiffer, Alex Colville, Valerie Jaudon and László Fehér turn common urban places into bizarre scenes full of blind spots that challenge our imagination. Terry Fox’ “Children’s Tapes” addresses children directly and turns art into an alternative to educational children’s program with his little physical experiments using tools and parts from everyday life. Semëon Natanovič Fajbisovič and Vincent Desiderio tell stories in razor-sharp but without telling us the end. The worlds invented by Andreas Schulze, Ivan Lubennikov and Angel Christov gain their attraction and depth from the light emerging from them. Joe Zucker does not only take us on a pirate ship in the China Sea but also into his own world of painting where the canvas is covered with pastel-colored ridges like sugar icing.
Exhibition curator: Anna Sophia Schultz
Preview: Phyllida Barlow. Aachen Art Prize
13 May–26 August 2012
The Aachen Art Prize for 2012 is scheduled to be awarded to British artist Phyllida Barlow. Born in Newcastle in 1944, Phyllida Barlow primarily works with sculpture, her works being characterised by a forceful connection to place. With prize money of 10,000 EUR and an exhibition in the Ludwig Forum, the Art Prize is awarded biannually to an artist whose works have continually given new impetus to the international art scene. Phyllida Barlow’s solo exhibition titled “BRINK” includes seven new works exclusively made for the show in the Ludwig Forum.
Previous winners of the Aachen Art Prize since 1983 include Pawel Althamer, Aernout Mik, Roman Signer, Andreas Slominski, Tacita Dean, Michael Asher, Richard Tuttle, Katharina Fritsch, Christian Boltanski, On Kawara, Ilya Kabakov, Richard Long, A.R. Penck and Luciano Fabro.
