The Xylon Museum in Schwetzingen is a venue with a distinct profile: free admission, a recurring focus on printmaking – and its own workshop where technique, material, and process are not only demonstrated but also experimented with. It is a place where exhibitions are allowed to be something rarely possible in larger institutions: experimental.

For several years, I have curated, initiated, and supported exhibitions for the Xylon Museum – from established poster and collage artists to the promotion of emerging talent. Some of these projects were realized in cooperation with ARTTRD. Additionally, there is a project unrelated to the museum but belonging to the same working method: a series of works I co-created with Philipp Erlach and exhibited in Berlin.

“Super Collager – A Visual Collision Institute”

On December 9, 2023, the exhibition “Super Collager – A Visual Collision Institute” opened at the Xylon Museum, in cooperation with ARTTRD. Three positions, one medium: Klaus Staeck, whose political posters have marked a stance for decades and who presented a different spectrum of his work here; Götz Gramlich with his unmistakable formal language of strong color and dense graphics; and Max Hathaway with works that combine reflection and creative freedom.

The works on display were created between 2020 and 2022 – during the Covid years, a time of restriction that proved productive for all three: impulsive, experimental, condensed. A new context of meaning emerges from combined visual fragments – a “context trouvé.” The exhibition ran until the end of February.

Emerging Talent: Students of Burg Giebichenstein

A house with its own print workshop is the right place for the next generation. With students from Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle, I brought an exhibition to the Xylon Museum that showcased young positions in printmaking and graphic design – one of the first museum appearances for the artists, and a rejuvenation of the program for the institution.

Co-Creation with Philipp Erlach – Exhibited in Berlin

Not every exhibition begins with finished works. Together with Philipp Erlach, a series of works emerged that we co-created – the work itself grew out of dialogue, not selection. I also curated and co-organized the project; however, the cycle was not shown in Schwetzingen, but in a Berlin air-raid shelter – a space whose gravity and confinement gave the works a unique tension.

“Father and Son” – Hans Daniel and Frieder Sailer

Also on display at the Xylon Museum: “Father and Son” with works by Hans Daniel Sailer and Frieder Sailer – watercolor woodcuts alongside sculptures in bronze and Maulbronn sandstone. Two artistic signatures, connected by classical themes and a family history; a constellation that perfectly matches the museum’s profile.

What This Project Demonstrates

For me, curating means bringing together positions that have something to say to each other – and giving the institution housing them a reason to exist. Whether established names like Klaus Staeck, young positions from the university, or a series of works that only emerges through a collaborative process: it is always about bringing art to where it can be seen and providing it with a supportive framework.

More on this: Projects · Collections & Estates · Museum: xylon-schwetzingen.de · Cooperation Partner: arttrd.com