The garden of the Städel Museum is, after all, generally a place where one likes to linger even outside of a museum visit. But this summer there is another reason for this: the artwork Colormaster F by Manuel Franke. The Düsseldorf artist developed the 50-meter-long and 2.5-meter-high work of art for the "Im Städel Garten" series. The monumental work can be viewed from 20 June to 23 September, but can also be experienced physically. Half sculpture, half painting, Colormaster F acts as a luminous obstacle that blocks visitors' usual view, but at the same time makes the familiar mound of lawn seem entirely new.
Simultaneously open and closed off, the artwork invites visitors to play, explore, and linger, providing an entirely new and interactive experience of the familiar Städel Garden for one summer.
The artist himself describes his artwork in the following words: "The Städel Garden is a challenge for an artist because it is already perfectly designed and is a landmark for the house. Precisely for this reason I gladly accepted this invitation. My wave stretches with the pink side like a huge sail over the lawn - which thus appears like a green color field with the same color dominance. On the one hand, the object pacifies the garden; on the other, the museum virtually spills out into the urban space in a rapid movement of bright orange."
In the supporting program, Manuel Franke will hold a conversation with the French painter and conceptual artist Daniel Buren (* 1938) in front of an audience on July 24. The dialogue will take place both in front of Colormaster F in the Städel Garden and in front of Daniel Buren's works in the Städel Collection.
For Colormaster F, Manuel Franke uses white cement and pigment; both are provided to the artist by the concrete manufacturer Dyckerhoff from Wiesbaden. The ordinary character of the concrete is luminously broken up by the use of blue pigmented white cement. In addition, industrially cambered corrugated sheet metal and high-gloss paint are used. The sinusoidal corrugation, which is otherwise primarily used in agriculture or factory buildings, shines in Colormaster F in light pink on one side and in bright orange on the other, thus losing some of its industrial, nonsensical character. The artist had the sheet metal painted with standardized colors, making the surface resemble a car body.
For more information, see: <link http: www.staedelmuseum.de _blank>Www.staedelmuseum.de
There is no charge to visit the Städel Garden.
