Society of Friends of Young Art Baden-Baden
The Society of Friends of Young Art Baden-Baden is a non-profit , registered association that is dedicated to the mediation of contemporary art . Membership is open to everyone. The society belongs to the working group of German art associations (ADKV), it is based in the old steam bath, which was built in 1846 according to plans by Heinrich Hübsch on the market place of Baden-Baden . Since its exhibition in 1998, the sculpture “Vases on stilts” by Franz Stähler has been a widely visible reference to the company's headquarters.
history
The company was founded in 1955 in the vicinity of the Agis-Verlag magazine “das kunstwerk”. The initiators of the establishment were the art historian Dietrich Mahlow , the journalist Leopold Zahn and the artist Klaus Jürgen Fischer. Klaus Jürgen-Fischer took over the chairmanship, Dietrich Mahlow took over the management. In 1956, Dietrich Mahlow also became director of the Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden , which over the next two decades led to close cooperation between the two institutions, both in terms of exhibitions and other programs.
In the year it was founded, the association had 75 members. Today (2016) there are 444, including 314 artists. The members come mainly from Baden-Württemberg , but also from the rest of Germany , France and Switzerland .
Positions
The society is the oldest art association in Baden-Baden and is open to all art movements. It promotes contemporary art through exhibitions (usually six per year), accompanying discussion events, artist talks, readings and guided tours. The focus is on the dialogue between artists and those interested in art. Exhibitions are held at regular intervals in which the artist members present their work.
At the suggestion of the society, the city of Baden-Baden has been awarding the “Artists in Baden-Baden” prize since 1982, an award for artists born or resident in the city who have distinguished themselves with their work. The city prize money enables an exhibition with a catalog by the Society of Friends of Young Art.
Chairman of the company since its inception
- 1955 - 1970: Leopold Zahn (Managing Director: Dietrich Mahlow)
- 1970 - 1972: Otto Schrag
- 1972 - 1982: Alice Schrag
- 1982 - 1984: Klaus Jürgen-Fischer
- 1984 - 1988: Eberhard Eckerle
- 1988 - 1998: Jutta Dambach-Stierle
- since 1998: Karl Manfred Rennertz
literature
- Show the flag - 50 years of the Society of Friends of Young Art Baden-Baden eV 2005, ISBN 3-9810432-0-0 .
- Michael Scholz-Hänsel: 1955–1974 Partnership: The Kunsthalle and the GFjK. In: Kunsthalle Baden-Baden 1909–1986 , p. 36 ff.
- Joachim O. Engert: 50 years of the Society of Friends of Young Art. In: Aquae 05 , p. 127 ff., ISSN 0175-4858 .