Art Calendar - 31 May 2022

Bronze sculpture by Leon Löwentraut at the largest open-air art

 festival in the Netherlands

Spectacular art festival in the Netherlands: From Friday 3 June 2022 to Sunday 26 June 2022, the historic centre of Oisterwijk will be transformed into an open-air museum. Under the title "Praat met mij" (Talk to me!), over 30 artists from 12 different countries will present 50 monumental sculptures.

Sculpture „Character“ by Leon Löwentraut - ©Dominik Schmäke

A highlight of the free open-air art exhibition is certainly the hand-painted, 1.90-metre-high bronze sculpture "Character" by the Düsseldorf star artist Leon Löwentraut - an oversized head on narrow shoulders reminiscent of a mask. As in his cycle of paintings "Different Minds", the artist also deals here with existential questions: Which face does my counterpart show me? What am I allowed to believe? Who am I really?

"My main themes are the field of tension between appearance and reality in which we all move every day, as well as the isolated individual behind his social façade," Leon Löwentraut explains, adding, "I am very proud that I am able to exhibit here together with world-class artists. I also like the outdoor exhibition concept. It gives people the opportunity to experience art together and exchange impressions."

In addition to the work of Leon Löwentraut, sculptures by artists Tony Cragg, Rector of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf from 2009 until the end of 2013, Stephan Balkenhol, David Černý, Nick Ervinck, Francesca Marti', Sean Henry, Ilya Kabakov, Geert Koevoets, Bernar Venet and Ronald Westerhuis, among others, will be shown at the outdoor art festival, Museum on the Street.

The sculpture show will be accompanied by a supporting programme of music, dance, prose, poetry and theatre. 

Oisterwijk is also called "De Parel in 't Groen" (The Pearl in the Green) and is located in the Brabant region in the centre of the triangle formed by the cities of Eindhoven, Tilburg and Den Bosch. With its 80 moor lakes, the municipality is one of the most beautiful nature reserves in the Netherlands - and with around 6000 terrace chairs, perhaps the largest street café in the country.

The Art in Oisterwijk (AiO) festival first took place five years ago on the initiative of landscape architect Bert Huls, who will also direct the event in 2022.

Leon Löwentraut

Born in Kaiserslautern in 1998, Leon Löwentraut made a name for himself in the art world early on. His colourful works have already been shown worldwide with major solo exhibitions - including at the Kunstforum Wien, the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence, the history-steeped Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in Venice, the Bavarian National Museum in Munich, the Osthaus Museum in Hagen as well as galleries in New York, London, Berlin, Copenhagen and Singapore. Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences awarded the Düsseldorf painter a lectureship in the Virtual Design course for the winter semester 2021/2022. The topic is "Future Exhibition Design".

Löwentraut, who has been painting since the age of 7, lives and works near Düsseldorf.

Discover more: 

www.leonloewentraut.de

www.artinoisterwijk.com