Since 1983, the Vordemberge-Gildewart Foundation has been supporting young artists up to the age of thirty-five in various European countries by awarding an annual grant for one year of work, thus fulfilling the task set by the founder Ilse Leda, wife of the artist Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart (1897–1981).
Every year, the Foundation invites an art institution to host the Vordemberge-Gildewart grant. Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein has been invited as organiser and venue in 2013. Every institute decides how to organise the event in detail. The aim of the Kunstmuseum is to spotlight the four-nation region FL – A – CH – D and its young art scene. Therefore five curators from the region have been invited from Liechtenstein, Petra Büchel, Director of Gasometer, Triesen; from the Swiss cantons St. Gallen and the Grisons, Katharina Ammann, Conservator at Bündner Kunstmuseum in Chur, and Giovanni Carmine, Director of Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen; from Vorarlberg in Austria, Hans Dünser, Director of Kunstraum Dornbirn, and from the southern German Lake Constance area, Frank-Thorsten Moll, Head of the Art Department, Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen. They each invited three artists.
The region boasts a vast range of art institutions – from public, municipal and regionally funded to private undertakings – with a host of structures deeply rooted in the area. But what about the young art scene?
The exhibition showcases a fascinating cross-section of young, contemporary art, bringing together fifteen artists from the Upper Rhine Valley to the Lake Constance area in the south of Germany. Painting, sculpture, installation, site-specific works, media-based works, drawing, photography, interventions, performances and song are their means of expression. This broad range of contemporary artistic practice is also reflected in the exhibition. The artists exhibit and perform in the Museum's "Kunstlichtsaal" (artificial light hall) and "Seitenlichtsaal" (sidelight hall), including the foyer, in some cases reaching out into the outdoor area.
The accompanying catalogue presents the participants' work in a broader context, with greater depth provided by texts on the respective artists. The exhibition is a production of Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, supervised by Christiane Meyer-Stoll and Denise Rigaud.
Participating artists:
Maria Anwander (A)
Mirko Baselgia (CH)
Amina Broggi (FL)
Leonie Felle (D)
Florian Germann (CH)
Sören Hiob (D)
Chris Hunter (CH)
Simon Kindle (FL)
Lisa Kränzler (D)
Philipp Leissing (A)
Karin Ospelt (FL)
Nara Pfister (CH)
Veronika Schubert (A)
Sebastian Stadler (CH)
Valentina Stieger (CH)