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To this day, metal design has been determined by the discovery of new materials and the continuous dedication to form and function.
Formally, the works presented in the exhibition “German Silver after Bauhaus” evince the reduced and emphatically austere language
of the Bauhaus, whose design principles – based on the elementary stereometric forms of the sphere, the circle, the cone, the
cylinder, the square, and the cube – remained decisive for the generation of artists after its closure in 1933.
In 2002, the Silver Museum Sterckshof (Antwerp/Belgium) purchased a collection of about 200 objects assembled by the Antwerp textile
merchant Vic Janssens (1909–2001) from 1970 until his death, which constitutes one of the most comprehensive and representative
collections of German contemporary silver.
The oldest of the 23 silversmiths included in the collection is Willi Stoll (born in 1907); further early acquisitions comprise
works by Gotthold Schönwandt (born in 1921) and Wilhelm Sommer (born in 1911). Ulla and Martin Kaufmann (both born in 1941), from
whom Janssen purchased a total of 38 works, or the artist couple Margarethe und Werner Oehlschlaeger (born in 1946 and 1921
respectively), represented with 60 items, number among the outstanding protagonists of the following generation with which Janssens
extended the range of his collection activities before he finally also acquired works by younger artists such as the members of the
“buntmetall” group founded in 1985 (Klaus-Dieter Eichler, Stefan Epp, Matthias Engert, Hartmut Hahn).
The exhibition centers on the highlights of Janssens’ collection and not only offers an insight into the development of contemporary
metal design, but also documents the enormous influence the Bauhaus has exercised until today.
The Bauhaus Metal Workshop
With the ebbing of the decorative floral Jugendstil ornament, a clear tendency toward a rational formal language aimed at
functionality could be seen to emerge. Industrial production and, thus, the idea of serial manufacture were given more and more
attention, and traditional workshops found themselves forced to defend their raison d’être.
Founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar in 1919, the Bauhaus made a major contribution to the debate that took place in the following
years. Besides many other workshops such as the cabinet-making workshop, the sculpture workshops, or the pottery workshop, the metal
workshop played an essential role in this context. Beyond systematic materials research, the production of vessels and appliances
hinged on a completely new approach to formal design. The main concern was experimenting with basic forms such as spheres, circles,
cones, cylinders, squares, and cubes.
When László Moholy-Nagy became head of the metal workshop in 1923, its focus shifted decisively: from then on, activities centered
on industrial design rather than on the crafts of silversmithery.
During its short period of influence (the Bauhaus was closed in 1933), the metal workshop succeeded in setting landmark trends for
the metal design of subsequent decades. The Bauhaus workshops produced numerous fascinating objects which still belong to the design
incunabula of the twentieth century.
German Silver after Bauhaus
The Vic Janssens Collection
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| Duration of the Exhibition |
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April 15 through May 23 2009 |
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| Opening Times |
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Mo to Fr 9 to 5 pm | Sa 10 to 5 pm
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| Information |
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www.ottowagner.com/museum
T +43 1 534 53 DW 33088
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| Entrance |
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Main Banking Hall:
Free Entrance to the Special Exhibition!
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| Museum WAGNER:WERK |
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Entrance Fee: Euro 5.00
Euro 3,50 reduced fee for
students, senior citizens and groups
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| Free entrance |
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Bank customers of BAWAG P.S.K. on exhibit of customer card
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| Artistic director |
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Monika Wenzl-Bachmayer
WAGNER:WERK
Museum Postsparkasse
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| Catalogue |
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„German Silver after Bauhaus“
142 S., english/ german/ french/ dutch, 244 photographs
Edited by Edition Snoeck and Province of Antwerp
Special edition for WAGNER:WERK
Euro 19,00 |
Available at the WAGNER:WERK museum’s shop
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