“WEG MIT DER LEINWAND” (AWAY WITH THE CANVAS)

Rolf Nesch (1893-1975)

Cabinet exhibition

Villa Merkel presents works by artist Rolf Nesch (*1893 in Esslingen) from its own collection in two cabinet rooms. The exhibition is a co-operation with the current presentation "Prägungen und Entfaltungen. Rolf Nesch (1893-1975), Nadira Husain (*1980)" at the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart. On display are works from various creative phases of the artist, who emigrated to Norway in 1933 after the Nazi regime came to power. His art is characterised by his endeavour to merge material properties and visual design into a harmonious whole.

Guided tours (in German)

Thursday, 15 January, 18:30

Thursday, 29 January, 18:30

Rolf Nesch, Ragnhildrud, 1952
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024

6 December 2025 – January 2026

Opening: Friday, 5 December, 7 pm

Guest exhibition of the Esslinger Kunstverein:

Richard Merkle

A posthumous exhibition of works

From Breuer to van der Rohe, from Wegner to Starck, the history of chair design in the 20th century reflects the endeavour to achieve a perfect combination of function and form. The wall chairs, certainly the best-known object by Richard Merkle, differ from the aforementioned predecessors in many important aspects. Unsuitable for mass production, they are art objects and appear as geometric colour panels until a hidden mechanism folds the coloured surfaces into a rather spartan chair shape. The object is received through use. The colour combinations were chosen by the client at the time of creation. The small painted wooden panels serve as models for this, but are also valid as independent works of art. Their colour scheme was inspired by the Düsseldorf painter Imi Knoebel. Just as one must claim prominent teachers and role models for Richard Merkle as a person: Achim Kubinski, the legendary Stuttgart gallery owner, Joseph Kosuth, the American conceptual artist whose assistant he was for several years - to name just these two. His work, on the other hand, is genuine, sophisticated, meticulous, independent and among the best of contemporary art.

Curator: Christian Gögger

Richard Merkle, Picnic, 2018

24 October – 23 November 2025

Opening: Thursday, 23 October, 7 pm

Graduate students in the Weißenhof Program of Fine Arts
Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart

Natalija Borovec, Saskia Fischer, Samira Gebhardt, Bastian Gehbauer, Andreas Grahl, Einan Kaku, Mizi Lee

For the ninth time, Villa Merkel, in cooperation with the Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design, is presenting the graduates of the postgraduate course ‘Meisterschüler:in im Weißenhof-Programm der Bildenden Kunst’. Outstanding graduates develop and realise a project within three semesters.

Marie Zbikowska, Mutterform, 2024
Photo: Frank Kleinbach.
Meisterschüler:innen presentation 2024

11 July - 5 October 2025

Opening: Thursday, 10 July, 7 pm

(K)eine Pause - Ausruhen im digitalen Zeitalter
((Not) a break – resting in the digital age)

Caline Aoun, Patrizio di Massimo, Jeppe Hein, Judith Hopf, Moritz Jekat, Anna Jermolaewa, Thomas Liu Le Lann, Martin Parr, Sophie Utikal, Bill Viola, Wiktoria

The exhibition deals with resting as a necessity and metaphor in a fast-paced world. There has long been an entire industry in the western world that revolves around resting in digital and analogue space. Resting is associated with work-life balance and functions as a means of self-optimisation. At the same time, it is a physiological and psychological necessity that is often denied to homeless people, refugees or precariously employed people, for example. The exhibition examines this topic using a broad range of artistic positions and a wide variety of media. At the same time, quiet spaces will be created in the Villa Merkel itself and a varied accompanying programme will be offered.

Moritz Jekat, Wetlands of Pharmacology, 2023, Videostill

2 March – 9 June 2025

Opening: Saturday 1 March, 5 pm

Ramazan Can: Where is my Place in this World?

The exhibition ‘Where is my Place in this World?’ by Ramazan Can (*1988 in Manisa, Türkiye) at Villa Merkel is the Turkish artist's first solo museum exhibition in Europe, together with the parallel exhibition at the Gustav-Lübcke-Museum in Hamm. The focus is on series of works that deal with the political, cultural and spiritual issues of his origins and that characterise his biography and his work. Can combines familiar visual habits from the Western canon of art history with pictorial traditions from Anatolia, shamanism and references to contemporary Turkish events. In his exhibition, he presents sculptural positions with graphic approaches and painting.

Ramazan Can, The setter of nomad is a greengrocer, the one who builds a house from wood is timber man, 2022, Concrete, wood, mosaic, weaving, Photo by Ramazan Can

Ramazan Can, The setter of nomad is a greengrocer,
the one who builds a house from wood is timber man,
2022

2 March – 9 June 2025

Opening: Saturday, 1 March, 5 pm

Serena Ferrario: Hungry Ghosts

Serena Ferrario develops walk-in installations from drawings, video recordings and collected objects. Born in Italy to a Romanian mother and an Italian father, she grew up in Romania, Italy and Germany. Her works thematise this intercultural imprint and the feeling of being at home everywhere and nowhere. The works are walk-in archives of memory that deal with fundamentally human themes such as family, friendship, love, fears and loss. Ferrario offers visitors a multitude of intellectual points of reference and opens up a multi-layered aesthetic experience.

Serena Ferrario, Schnee im Sommer, 2021 - The Drawings House, 2021
Serena Ferrario
Schnee im Sommer, 2021 - The Drawings House, 2021