The Frankfurt/RhineMain region has always been characterized by the inflow and outflow of people. Many an artist has also come, spent a phase of his/her life and career here, and gone again. Taking selected figures of the mid-nineteenth to the late twentieth century as examples, the exhibition explores the reciprocal relationship between artists and their temporary home: What expectations did they come here with? What artistic potential did they bring with them? How did they contribute to the local art scene and why did they leave again?

The mobility of many artists represented a major factor in their individual networks. It was above all the prospect of sales and income opportunities that motivated artists to change locations. Relatives, friends, teachers, but also collectors and dealers informed them about the local conditions and put them in contact with people that made a stay in the Frankfurt/RhineMain regionseem advantageous. Yet the comings and goings were not always free of constraint. Particularly in the years 1933 to 1945, state terror resulted in banishment and annihilation. After the war, the renewed influx of artists from the outside helped the region reconnect with the international art world.

The art scene of the Frankfurt/RhineMain cultural region thus owes its diversity and vibrancy in no small part to the many impulses provided by migrating artists.

Comings and Goings – From Courbet to Kirkeby: Artists’ Sojourns in the Frankfurt/RhineMain Region

Exhibition at Goethe University's MUSEUM GIERSCH 

September 9th 2016 - January 22nd 2017

Private guided tours in English language on request: +49(0)69 13821 – 010 (1 hour)
Fee on weekdays: 75 € (plus admission price)
Fee on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays: 80 € (plus admission price)

Address:

Schaumainkai 83 (Museumsufer)
60596 Frankfurt am Main