Leopold Museum: successful Wilhelm Lehmbruck exhibition enters its final phase

01.07.2016

Entering its final weekend, the exhibition on Wilhelm Lehmbruck, the most eminent German Expressionist sculptor, will only be on display at the Leopold Museum until and including Monday, the 4^th of July 2016.

Featuring some 50 sculptures and approximately 90 paintings, drawings and etchings, the presentation is the first comprehensive Lehmbruck retrospective in Austria, which has already been viewed by over 90,000 visitors.

Hans-Peter Wipplinger, the Leopold Museum’s Artistic Director: “Eminent groups of works, which include all of Wilhelm Lehmbruck’s central creations, such as “Kneeling Woman” (1911), “Ascending Youth” (1913/14), “Pensive Woman” (1913), “The Fallen Man” (1915) and “Head of a Thinker” (1918), illustrate the genesis of his oeuvre in an impressive manner”. With the two exhibitions “Wilhelm Lehmbruck. Retrospective”and“Berlinde De Bruyckere. Suture” (shown until 5^th September), which opened simultaneously, the Leopold Museum’s Director has chosen to present two outstanding positions of 20^th and 21^st century sculpture.

Lehmbruck’s oeuvre is juxtaposed with works by his companions and contemporaries, including Auguste Rodin, Aristide Maillol, Alexander Archipenko, Constantin Brâncuși, Amedeo Modigliani and Egon Schiele. The exhibition further features works by the eminent performance artistand sculptor Joseph Beuys — himself an ardent admirer of Lehmbruck and laureate of the Wilhelm Lehmbruck Prize — as well as two impressive wax sculptures by Berlinde De Bruyckere, which provide a subtle connection to her solo exhibition. This opportunity to rediscover one of the most innovative and visionary artists of the 20^th century with the Lehmbruck exhibition while at the same time being able to encounter one of the most internationally renowned contemporary sculptors in the Berlinde De Bruyckere presentation has been enthusiastically welcomed by visitors and the media alike, the responses in the press ranging from “dashing debut” to “brilliant opening” and “expert exhibition”.

The strong sense of inwardness of Lehmbruck’s sculptures mirrors the emotions of an artist who was as extraordinary as he was sensitive and vulnerable. The humanity and depth of his works, as expressed for instance in “The Fallen Man”, perhaps the most impressive anti-war memorial, allowed Wilhelm Lehmbruck to create an oeuvre that has lost none of its relevance today, especially in view of current global political events.

The Wilhelm Lehmbruck exhibition has been conceived in cooperation with the Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg, which has provided many important loans. The exhibition has further been supported by the Lehmbruck family and other private lenders, without whom this successful and most comprehensive Lehmbruck exhibition in Austria to date would not have been possible.

Wilhelm Lehmbruck. Retrospective
until Mon, 4^th July 2016, 10 am – 6 pm daily
Public guided tour offering an overview of the exhibition on
Sun, 3^rd July 2016, 3 pm

Berlinde De Bruyckere. Suture
until Mon, 5^th September 2016, 10 am – 6pm daily.
Closed Tues, 1^st September
Guided tour with the exhibition’s curator Stephanie Damianitsch on
Thurs, 14^th July 2016 and Thurs, 11^th August 2016, 6 pm

Dialogue exhibition. Berlinde De Bruyckere and curator Stephanie Damianitsch
on Sat, 23^rd July 2016, 3 pm
Performance by Romeu Runa "Sibylle" – a concept created in collaboration with Berlinde De Bruyckere. In cooperation with ImPulsTanz Festival. Sat, 23^rd July 2016, 4.30 pm

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