Ahlen Art Museum

Kunstmuseum Ahlen, Wilhelminian style villa, August 2019

Kunstmuseum Ahlen, entrance side with a view of the new building

Kunstmuseum Ahlen, new building, ground floor

Ahlen Art Museum, old building, 1st floor, Leuchtersaal

Kunstmuseum Ahlen, old building, ground floor, chapel

The Kunstmuseum Ahlen is a museum in Ahlen / Westphalia. It is located in the city center of Ahlen, at the former west gate of the city, and has existed since October 1993. The museum was founded on the private initiative of the founder, Theodor F. Leifeld. For this purpose, an urban monument, a Wilhelminian style villa of the Baroness von Kalkstein, was extensively renovated. The Kunstmuseum Ahlen, which was expanded in 1996 by a new building, shows several changing exhibitions of modern and contemporary art annually in an ensemble of historical and modern architecture and has its own collection. Stephan Trescher was acting director of the Kunstmuseum Ahlen in 2019 and artistic director in early 2020. He replaced his predecessor Burkhard Leismann , who had headed the museum since it was founded. From August 2020 the house will be managed by Martina Padberg .

collection

The Kunstmuseum Ahlen has been building its own collection since 2006. It is supported with purchases from the Theodor F. Leifeld Foundation and the support group of the Kunstmuseum Ahlen eV as well as donations and permanent loans. The collection currently comprises around 1500 works by more than 200 artists in the categories of early classical modernism (from late impressionism), constructive-concrete art and contemporary art. The subject of light in art and light art plays a special role in all areas.

The earliest paintings in the collection are by Auguste Renoir , Christian Rohlfs , Emil Nolde and Erich Heckel , followed by works by Rhenish expressionists such as Walter Ophey , Wilhelm Wieger , Heinrich Campendonk , Helmuth Macke and Heinrich Nauen , as well as by Westphalian expressionists such as Peter August Böckstiegel and Hermann Stenner . The second focus of the collection is on German constructive-concrete works of art since World War II. a. by Fritz Winter , Heinrich Siepmann , Leo Erb , Klaus Staudt and Imi Knoebel . The artists of the group ZERO Heinz Mack , Adolf Luther and Günther Uecker are represented as well as Eduard Micus and Erwin Bechtold .

The third area of the collection emerged from the temporary exhibitions. Contemporary works a. a. by Susanne Lyner , Christoph Dahlhausen , Margret Eicher , Bernd Damke , Myriam Thyes and Jobst Tilmann reflect the exhibition activities of the last 25 years. The long-standing cooperation with the artist Timm Ulrichs sets a special accent in the collection with a comprehensive bundle. Andreas Horlitz's estate was added to the collection in 2016.

Outside, the museum is showing works in the sculpture garden, a large light projection by Egill Saebjörnsson that plays on the arched barrel roof of the new building, as well as a newly acquired light artwork by Adam Barker-Mill .

Exhibitions

In addition to many individual projects, the Kunstmuseum Ahlen is a partner in exhibition cooperations such as the most recent:

2017/2018 Fritz Klemm - paintings and works on paper , shown in succession in the Leonhardi Museum , Dresden and in the Museum de Fundatie , Zwolle, Netherlands (with catalog).