Sculpture in the
Bad Homburg Kurpark
 

in collaboration with the
Yorkshire Sculpture Park

As of May, the “Blickachsen“ exhibition series again invites you to make a tour of Bad Homburg offering many a perspective. The city with its historical Kurpark is now transforming itself for the sixth time into a venue for large contemporary sculptures and installations. With “Blickachsen 6“ we are happy to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the exhibition series, which takes place every second year.

In the mid-19th century, landscape architect Peter Joseph Lenné drew up the plans for Bad Homburg's Kurpark. Inspired by the visual axes that Lenné deliberately created, we have, since 1997, been able to realize my vision of an exhibition of large-size sculptures under the title of “Blickachsen“ in this historical landscape garden. All the “Blickachsen“ exhibitions are dedicated to contemporary sculpture and the theme of perspective. Artworks of quite different types encounter one another and are placed in conjunction with the visual axes of the historical gardens. Thanks to the dialogue between the contemporary works and the visual geometry of the park, visitors will encounter unexpected new angles of vision. The experience of the shift in perspective as a way of stimulating new ways of seeing is the central idea underlying our exhibition series. And so it is that “Blickachsen“ now extends beyond the Kurpark and into the fabric of the city itself. Bad Homburg's castle and its gardens are also once again opening their gates to contemporary art, extending the exciting diversity of possible encounters with contemporary works.

One of the reasons the “Blickachsen“ series has been so successful is the combination of the quality of the sculptures and the emphasis on continuity – as a result it has emerged not only as one of the most important cultural events in the region but has also attained international recognition. Following the Skulpturenmuseum Glaskasten in Marl, the Stiftung Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum in Duisburg, the Kunsthalle Mannheim and most recently in 2005 the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen/Basel, we are very proud to welcome the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and its director Peter Murray as partners for this year's exhibition. As the official patron of the series, the Minister-President of Hesse Roland Koch will personally open “Blickachsen 6“, and for the third time this year the Rotary-Club Bad Homburg-Schloß will be awarding a special support prize for upcoming artists.

The staunch support of the Municipal Council of the City of Bad Homburg v.d.Höhe and the Kur- und Kongreß-GmbH has been crucial to the organization of the exhibition series. Moreover, the exhibition would not have been possible without the generous patronage of our main sponsor ALTANA AG, and of Basler Versicherungen and Deutsche Leasing AG. Ten years of “Blickachsen“ has proved to be a perfect example of a successful public-private partnership in art.

This summer, with “Blickachsen 6“ Bad Homburg is once again offering the opportunity for visitors to enjoy a wide-ranging and hopefully exciting encounter with contemporary art – well beyond the confines of museum walls, but setting the same demanding standards as found in a museum. I am very glad to be able to welcome you to the tenth anniversary of “Blickachsen“ and thus once again to Bad Homburg.

Christian K. Scheffel