Gewächs der Seele – Pflanzenfantasien zwischen Symbolismus und Outsider Art. Floral Fantasies between Symbolism and Outsider Art

publisher Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Hatje Cantz publishers Berlin, 2019

catalogue for the project

«Gewächs der Seele - Pflanzenfantasien zwischen Symbolismus und Outsider Art. Floral Fantasies between Symbolism and Outsider Art»
31 March until 4 August 2019

Exhibitions with dance, theatre and performance program at: Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen am Rhein / Museum Sammlung Prinzhorn, Heidelberg / zeitraumexit, Mannheim / Museum Haus Cajeth, Heidelberg / Galerie Alte Turnhalle, Bad Dürkheim.

At the centre of the interdisciplinary and inclusive cooperation project «Gewächs der Seele (plants of the soul)» is the significance of the plant as an artistic form of expression of mental states. With exhibitions, installations as well as performance, dance and theatre productions, the Wilhelm-Hack-Museum (Ludwigshafen), the Prinzhorn Collection (Heidelberg), zeitraumexit (Mannheim), the Alte Turnhalle Gallery (Bad Dürkheim) and the Museum Haus Cajeth (Heidelberg) thematise the 'plants of the soul' in Outsider Art and present them from different points of view.

The Wilhelm Hack Museum is dedicated to the historical roots of the theme and presents for the first time a comprehensive exhibition that juxtaposes works of Symbolism and Surrealism with works that were created outside of recognised art production. On display are works by artists such as Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, William Degouve de Nuncques, Max Ernst, Barbara Honywood, Paul Klee, Hilma af Klint, František Kupka, Séraphine Louis, Odilon Redon and others.

The importance of Symbolism and Surrealism as preconditions for the discovery of mediumistic art and the 'pictorial art of the mentally ill' is emphasised. In this way, the show also questions the fixed demarcation between established art and Outsider Art and underlines the fluid transitions of art productions under very different conditions.

The exhibitions in the Prinzhorn Collection, the Museum Haus Cajeth and the Alte Turnhalle Gallery continue the theme into the present.

zeitraumexit expands the theme with inclusive performances and theatre projects. Performative interventions as well as participatory and inclusive installations form a link for the entire project.