Special exhibition "UNIKATE erzählen. Artistic Meissen 1970 - 2010" 7 May 2022 - 8 January 2023

Press text for trade press art, culture, collectors, antiques –

Many people are familiar with 18th century porcelain from the world-famous Meissen porcelain manufactory. Porcelain lovers are also familiar with Meissen porcelain products from the first half of the 20th century, as they have already been shown in exhibitions. However, Meissen porcelain objects from the time of the GDR and the period after the fall of communism have only recently begun to attract more attention. And so the special show "UNIKATE erzählen. Artistic Meissen 1970 - 2010" is one of the first special exhibitions of porcelain objects from these two eras. They are part of a large collection of Meissen porcelain that was donated to Porzellanikon by a Hamburg collector couple. From 7 May 2022 to 8 January 2023, around 200 unique porcelain objects will be on display on an exhi-bition area of 300 square metres at Porzellanikon Hohenberg a.d. Eger.

The special exhibition illuminates an exciting chapter in the history of the Meissen manufactory and brings to light previously unknown facts about the "Artistic Development Collec-tive". This was a department within the manufactory in which young porcelain artists were given the task of further developing the product range so that the manufactory could build on the successes of the Meissen Baroque. This task was linked to the GDR's political leadership's desire for a source of foreign currency income. Although the artists' group had the freedom to experiment and create, they were always under pressure. Meissen porcelain was a valuable export for the GDR and an important source of foreign currency. The buyers of her objects were mainly in the West.

Unique art ushered in a new era for the Meissen manufactory, in which a large number of very different unique pieces were created until the department was dissolved in 2010. The designers repeatedly tested the limits of the material and found new possibilities of porcelain design that Meissen had never seen before. On the basis of 200 very different individual pieces created since the late 1970s, the history of the artistic development department is retold, in which a total of twelve artists were active, belonging to two generations of artists. The special exhibition explores the question of where the artists got their ideas and the stories behind the objects.

The unique pieces are by Ludwig Zepner, Heinz Werner, Peter Strang, Rudi Stolle, Volkmar Bretschneider, Jörg Danielczyk, Sabine Wachs, Silvia Klöde, Gudrun Gaube, Olaf Fieber, Andreas Ehret and Andreas Herten. They impress with their thematic and creative versatility. Each of them found an unmistakable signature and proved in his or her own way what is technically possible with porcelain. The individual artists' sources of inspiration were also diverse. During their time in the "Artistic Development", they picked up traditional themes from nature, mythology or even the Commedia dell'arte. But they also drew inspiration from their everyday surroundings or journeys to distant countries, which they were even allowed to visit in non-socialist foreign countries. The well-known sculptor Peter Strang, for example, reinterpreted motifs such as that of "Europe on the Bull", which Meissen had already had in its repertoire in the 18th century. The porcelain artist, who was one of three founding members of the department, relied on bold colours and daring shapes for his figures. Impressions from nature played an important role in Volkmar Bretschneider's work. For the "Seabed" décors, he was inspired by his trips to Florida, which he undertook in the early 1980s. Heinz Werner designed many décors for service forms during his creative period in Meissen. Some of the motifs, such as that of the orchid, can also be found in his unique art. Ludwig Zepner experimented with crystal glazes because he was attracted by the creative diversity of the unpredictable formation of the crystals. Rudi Stolle, a trained lithographer and porcelain painter, combined these two professions in graphic decorations on picture plates or on vessel forms.

The younger designers who joined the department from the 1980s onwards also found their very own style. Jörg Danielczyk visited Venice on behalf of the manufactory to gather impressions of the traditional carnival for his figure designs. Andreas Ehret represents a very minimalist style in that, although he gives the white of the porcelain a lot of space, he dares to combine the porcelain with iron oxide, which burns into the porcelain and leaves its traces. Olaf Fieber's designs, which often seem very cheerful, often stand in contrast to their deeper meaning. For example, his colourful interpretation of the children's book classic "War of the Buttons" deals with themes such as enmity.

The first woman in the "New Artistic Development" department was Silvia Klöde. She sometimes found inspiration for her designs in the cityscape. The dandelion fountain in Dresden is considered the inspiration for her sculpture "Tree I". The porcelain designer Sabine Wachs is very close to nature. As she is at home on a farm, she always incorporates the local flora and fauna in her work. Designer Gudrun Gaube, who last joined the group in 1990, also likes to deal with nature in her décor designs. But the power and violence of nature were also a source of inspiration for her. One object is related to the consequences of the flood of the century in 2002, which endangered Prague Zoo. Andreas Herten is still employed at the manufactory as a decorative painter. During his time in the artistic development department, he often used the airbrush technique for his unique pieces. This technique was already used in Meissen in the 19th century.

The exhibition "UNIKATE erzählen. Artistic Meissen 1970 - 2010" aims to draw attention to the creative and thematic diversity of porcelain and to show what exciting, unusual and also idiosyncratic stories are hidden behind the individual works. In addition to the artists, other personalities who helped to shape this exciting epoch of the Meissen manufactory will also have their say.

Please send questions about the exhibition directly to:

Petra Werner M. A.
Chief Curator for the Art and Cultural History of Porcelain
Fon +49 9287 91800-211
petra.werner(at)porzellanikon.org

Important information at a glance:

Special exhibition "UNIKATE erzählen. Artistic Meissen 1970 - 2010"
Duration: 7. May 2022 – 8. January 2023

Address:
Porzellanikon - State Museum of Porcelain, Hohenberg a.d. Eger.
Schirndinger Street 48
95691 Hohenberg an der Eger
Phone: +49 9233 7722-0
dpm(at)porzellanikon.org

Opening hours:
Tuesday - Sunday 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Public holidays 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.Closed on Mondays

Entrance fees:
Hohenberg 3,00 € / 2,00 € reduced
Combination ticket with Porzellanikon Selb 6,50 € / 5,00 € reduced

Hotels and restaurants near the museum:
Hotel and inn "Zur Burg", Hohenberg a.d. Eger, (in town)
Hotel and inn "Zum weissen Lamm", Hohenberg a.d. Eger, (in town)
Hotel "The Bricks" Marktredwitz, Marktredwitz, 13 km
Hotel SOIBELMANNS Alexandersbad, Bad Alexandersbad, 22 km
Golfhotel Fahrenbach, Fahrenbach, Tröstau, 26 km