„Die Grosse“. A city celebrates its artists. Opening 3 June, Duesseldorf

„Die Grosse“. A city celebrates its artists. Opening 3 June

Düsseldorf, 1 June 2023:

„Die Grosse“: The city of art, Düsseldorf, celebrates its artists. But the financial aspect also matters, as many important art collections also began

with „Die Grosse“.

Star photographers spotted in the exhibition: The"Averted Portrait" by Corina Gertz is on show, as well as works by the legendary Walther Vogel.

Award winner Jan Kolata, Angélique Tracik - Head of Cultural Office Düsseldorf, Michael Kortländer and and the new director Dr. Emmanuel Mir, ©Morgaine Prinz

Düsseldorf, 1 June 2023: Saturday is the day. "Die Grosse", Germany's largest art exhibition is upcoming and will be officially opened at 18.00 by Lord Mayor Dr Stephan Keller. The exhibition also has a commercial character, because you can buy the works right away. For how much? From a few hundred euros up to 66.000 euros.

The oldest trainee in the world. What's new?

This year, the long-time director, Düsseldorf artist and exhibition organiser Michael Kortländer hands over the baton to Dr. Emmanuel Mir, who comes from France and lives in Düsseldorf. Mir studied at the Kunstakademie and also did his doctorate in art studies at the University of Düsseldorf. It is his first "Die Grosse" and he jokingly referred to himself as the oldest intern in the world. It is thanks to him that there are many innovations this year. Mir sought cooperation with schools, and this year the Wim Wenders Gymnasium and the Lore-Lorentz-Berufsschule play a special role. The pupils designed posters.

What is new, however, is an audio guide. The texts for the black QR code were written by art historians and the green QR codes by the pupils of the Wim Wenders Gymnasium. He said, that he would like to see more art classes involved in the future because, after all, the exhibition is dealing with living artists whom the pupils can meet.

Dr Antonietta Zeoli, the director of the Wim Wenders Gymnasium, founded in 2017, was also present. She had already cooperated with "Die Grosse" many times. It started with documentaries, but the development of the audio guide, "Thoughts are Free" would be entirely in the spirit of the eponymous film director Wim Wenders.

Michael Kortländer and director of Kunstpalast Dr. Felix Krämer ©Morgaine Prinz

Host Dr Felix Krämer, Director of the Kunstpalast, said that "Die Grosse" was his first exhibition when he started 6 years ago. He was very pleased that artists could claim the house for themselves on these days. After all, exhibitions would be part of the DNA of the house. It would be the festive idea that the city celebrates its artists.

Why it is also worthwhile to be present at "Die Grosse"? Many art collections started here.

Dr Felix Krämer pointed out that he had heard from many art collectors in the city that they first started buying art at "Die Grosse". In addition, the museum would make regular purchases, but the NRW state parliament would also buy for its deputies' offices.

Prize winner

This year's prizewinner is Jan Kolata, a former student at the Kunstakademie who, among other things, had a sought-after guest studio at the Villa Romana in Florence. Critics describe him as a constant on the art scene. Until his retirement in 2016, Jan Kolata held a professorship for art at the University of Dortmund. The artist lives and works in Düsseldorf.

The winner of the sponsorship award is Lara Kaiser. Kaiser deals with representational and abstract painting and asks what painting means. She began to paint complex spatial situations in oil, workrooms at the art academy, attics and still lifes.

Star photographers spotted in the exhibition

There are 3 works of "Averted Portrait" by Corina Gertz on display, as well as works by the legendary Walther Vogel.

When:

Opening: 6 June 6 p.m.

Düsseldorf Kunstpalast

kunstpalast.de