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Non Omnis Moriar – Stephanie Henderson

I first met Reinhard Schmid at the Dreamscapes Exhibition in Amsterdam last year. Through our correspondence since then, Reinhard came to invite me down to the opening of the “Dante’s Divine Comedy” exhibition in Viechtach.

Viechtach is a 900 year old town situated in the picturesque countryside of the Bavarian Forest. Some time ago the town of Viechtach decided to put the Alt Rathaus (Old Town Hall) to use as a gallery. Its program of exhibitions have a special emphasis upon Fantastic art. And so the “Dante’s Divine Comedy” exhibition curated by artist and publisher Claus Brusen fitted quite naturally.

The gallery is right on the old town square, which is not surprising since it was formerly the Rathaus. The upper floor of the Alt Rathaus has been superbly renovated as a large professional standard gallery space.

The exhibition looked impressive, with the selection of artwork being of an excellent quality. I arrived early before the throng and so was afforded a good overview of the exhibition. There were quite a few names I was already familiar with. It is always interesting to see new works from them.

Claus Brusen the curator of the exhibition arrived and so I finally met him face to face. There are so many of us now connected via the internet across the world, and it is not so often that we physically meet. However events like Claus’ present an opportunity to make that a reality. Claus generously gave me an exhibition catalog.

With a pen in one hand and the catalog in the other, seeking signatures was a great way to break the ice. Claus was a willing accomplice and directed many of the artists to me. By the time the opening formalities were about to commence I’d already met almost all of the exhibiting artists. There were a couple however that I’d already had contact with, such as Tim Roosen via Facebook and then Olivier Zappelli, a Swiss artist whom I had also met at the exhibition in Amsterdam last year.

Dante Exhibition Opening

The exhibition was officially opened by the Mayor, Georg Bruckner, with Reinhard introducing the artists and Horst Dieter Greyer giving us his philosophical musings on Fantastic art. It was also announced at the opening that the exhibition had already been a success to an extent, having an article with a photograph published in the Süddeutsche Newspaper. This was of special note because it is one of the largest in Germany, and it usually ignores regional events and focuses on Munich.

With the formalities finished, the mass of people which had filled the gallery to capacity on the warm Summer evening were very glad to move again and examine the artworks. Visitors had come from far and wide to see the exhibition.

After having our fill of art, we migrated down to the courtyard for our fill of Bavarian beer and food. Here over drinks and a meal was the chance for the artists to get know each other better. I had the opportunity to meet Ines Scheppach from the Neue Meister group and find out a little more about them as I had seen the group mentioned here and there around Germany. Like Ines, I talked to others and found out more of the state of our Fantastic Art movement.

The night slipped by with the beginning of new friendships and strengthening community. However many had long journeys ahead of them in the morning and so they decided to slip off to the Hotel Schmaus a few doors down from the exhibition where the town council had accommodated them.

In the morning many of the conversations continued again over breakfast. There was a lingering feeling of if only there was a little more time for us all to sit together and talk. A number of us did linger long enough in the day to see the Gläsernen Scheune, a life’s work museum and gallery from Reinhard’s father dedicated to the local Bavarian myths and stories. Those of us left in Viechtach that afternoon then congregated at the Cafe Isis where Reinhard has his Tarot series on display.

I think there will be many more exhibitions such as “Dante’s Divine Comedy” worth the the travel to Viechtach judging by the conversations and the things I saw that weekend. I believe Viechtach’s Fantastic Art project will grow from strength to strength in the years to come as their reputation as a host of professional and high quality events and exhibitions spreads.

2nd August – 27th September
Monday – Friday, 8am – 5pm
Saturday 10am – 1pm
Entry Free

Altes Rathaus
Viechtach
Bavaria
Germany

+49 9942 1661

the city councils of Liverdun and Blenod

or the cultural partnership Liverdun – Blenod

http://www.blenodlespam.fr/main.php?page=culturel.php

My painting “Manifest” at the Exhibition of Sacred Art

The Sacred Art exhibition, organized by the Society for the Art of Imagination, has opened in Bavaria, Germany and will run until June 7th. Included in the group show, is my painting “Manifest”.

The Lofthouse gallery is located inside an old monastery in Bavaria. Astrid Eulberg, the gallery owner, agreed to offer a space permanently for members of the Society for Art of Imagination.

Place: Lofthouse Gallery, Klostergut 2, 82405 Wessobrunn, Germany
Gallery owner:Astrid Eulberg
Ph: +49 8809922314
Email: AEulberg@gmx.de
Mob: +49 176 9674 8940

Ütersener Nachricten Zeitung

Time to finally write about exhibition opening in Barmstedt at Galerie III with Anja Brinkmann and Micha Krebs. The show went off nicely with a slew of articles in the local press. I arrived a couple of days early to be present when some of the journalists were due to visit. The gallery’s location is very picturesque, being situated on a small island on a lake. This and a number of historical buildings attract day visitors from Hamburg ensuring that that the gallery has a steady stream of visitors.

When I arrived I found the gallerist, Karin Weissenbacher, who is also an artist busy sculpting in her studio which is down the hall from the gallery. Karin had done a wonderful job of hanging our works by nicely balancing our individual styles across the rooms.

Since I was the only one of we three present, I had to meet and greet the media alone. It was a little difficult to explain Anja and Micha’s artwork, but perhaps more so my own as I had ensconced myself in my studio for half a year and talked to few people about my artwork.  While I know my own feelings and thoughts about my artwork, having to articulate these ideas on the spot to journalists required some creative thinking.

However, over the next days we discovered scant mention of anything I said in the press, but rather a rehash of the basic details sent out in the press releases. Ah well, so much for the 15 minutes of fame. At least my photo was in the papers.

The day of the opening arrived. A number of the local politicians were present with one of them giving us an introduction. It was pleasing to hear that he had dug through my website to find out a little background information to help with his speech. Micha was extremely nervous leading up to his speech but he did admirably well.

Present also was a long time internet contact, Dennis Konstantin, who lives in Hamburg with his girlfriend Natalia. They had both come out Barmstedt for the exhibition. It was our first personal meeting and we had much to discuss. I agreed to visit him at his studio the next day.

The exhibition finished well and we all had a very entertaining time with Karin and her housemates.

6th Annual Interdimensional Art Show 2009

As hinted in my previous post, “Exhibitions in Germany” there were other exhibitions pending. I can now confirm that I have been included in the 6th Annual Interdimensional Art Show 2009 Tour. The event is produced by Tribe13 and Starborne who have produced other wonderful events featuring underground electronic music, ritual theatre and fire, thematic and elaborate environments.

The event will tour the following cities:

• San Francisco,USA, May 3,Temple Niteclub
• Montreal,Canada, May 9th at the Pound
• Seattle,USA, May 23, Columbia City Theater
• Eugene,USA, June 5, hanging for a month long show at Fenario Gallery

Showcased are original artwork from the ever growing visionary community.

Alex Grey, Robert Venosa, Martina Hoffmann, A.Andrew Gonzalez, Pablo Amaringo, Kris Davidson, Carey Thompson, Ka, Andrew Jones, Amanda Sage, Mark Henson, Luke Brown, Roman Villagrana, Xavi, Chris Dyer, David Heskin, Eric Nez, Aloria Weaver, Raul Casillas, Leo Plaw, Satoshi Sakamoto, Imago Dei, Lindy Kehoe, Andreas One, Nate Valensky, Phidelity, Mathew Poplawski, Nemo, Jacob Aman, Andy Thomas (android), Simon Haiduk

This will be the first time I have exhibited in North America, with much thanks to my good friend Delvin Solkinson who has been instrumental in securing my participation and a number of other artists.