3. Juni 2012 - New Ceramics

Art FAir
ART Karlsruhe 2012
above Special exhibition of
work from Gunter Sachs
private collection
middle by Silvia Siemes
below by reiner Seliger
window on the contemporary inter-
A national art world opened recently in
Karlsruhe for the ninth time. But there were
galleries present with paintings by Lionel Feininger,
Max Liebermann, Marc Chagall, Pablo
Picasso and others, which at times provided
islands of visual relief from the vast sea of
Post-Modernism.
Two hundred and twenty-two galleries from
12 countries showcased their artists, who were
presented with works from all the customary
artistic genres – painting in all techniques,
print, sculpture in stone, wood, bronze and
steel – painted, patinated or freshly cast; not
to forget photography, nor indeed ceramics.
Among this range of galleries, especially
the ones that dared to appear at the fair with
only one artist deserve special mention. This
includes particularly Galerie Idelmann from
Gelsenkirchen, representing Ursula Commandeur
with her porcelain pieces, and Galerie
Keim from Stuttgart presenting the sculptures
by Silvia Siemes, but the latter's work was
also in the repertoire of two further galleries.
Ceramics from artists in the “One Artist
Show" could also be found at Galerie Tammer
& Partner with Volker März, Galerie Mäder
from Basel showing sculptures by Eva Oertli,
Galerie Borssenager with work by Osmar Osten
and Galerie Schloss Mochental with the
Bernd Pfannkuche
familiar sculptures in small-scale brick by
Reiner Seliger, which the artist stacks up to
form objects taller than a man.
Further ceramic work, mainly from the
field of sculpture, came from Galerie Nothelfer
in Berlin, mixed media sculpture in steel and
ceramic by Madeleine Dietz, and also from
Galerie Blaser with work by sculptor Titus
Lerner.
Last but not least, Majolika Karlsruhe must
be mentioned, which was again represented at
a large stand, with Edith Baerwolff, Joachim
Czichon, Isa Dahl, Ana Laibach, Hannelore
Langhans, Uwe Lindau, Sybille Onnen, Eva
Schaeuble, Franziska Schemel, Gabi Streile,
Ilse Teipelke, Rosemarie Vollmer, Günter Wagner,
Isolde Wawrin and Friederike Zeit.
Over 48,000 visitors attended ART Karlsruhe,
more than 3,000 more than last year.
Sales are reported to have run into the millions.
Even if this applies mainly to the “old
masters" in the fields of painting and sculpture,
nevertheless an increasing number of galleries
is represented with ceramics. Let us hope that
this trend continues and more ceramics galleries
have the courage to exhibit their artists
here. But their offerings must be suitable, the
visitors are not the ones that come to COL-
LECT in London or EUNIQUE, soon to open its
doors in Karlsruhe too.