Press Release Between white walls...

Exhibition: February 18–July 21, 2024

Opening: Sunday, February 18, 2024, 11:00 a.m.

PEAC Museum is turning 20! Opening on February 18, 2024, the anniversary exhibition Between white walls… tells the story of a collection: it traces the evolution of a museum from its beginnings as a single individual’s passion to an open and vibrant place for everyone.

The Paul Ege Art Collection (PEAC) emerged in the 1970s out of collector and entrepreneur Paul Ege’s passion for “seeing” and perceiving art. It is now one of Europe’s most extensive collections in the field of color painting, complemented by works of minimal art and conceptual art. At its location in the north of Freiburg, PEAC Museum developed out of the eponymous collection and is now a place that focuses on fostering dialog between the art-historical pioneers of color painting and international, contemporary perspectives. This dialog creates a new environment for visitors in which they are able to sharpen their ability to perceive themselves and the world.

The anniversary exhibition Between white walls... will feature around 60 works from the collection. Among them are new acquisitions that are being exhibited for the first time. The show features works that were groundbreaking for the PEAC Museum and continue to shape its identity to this day: some works extend the painting into space, others enter into an intense relationship with the viewer, or they draw attention to their own materiality, such as the work Ohne Titel (2017_094) by Franziska Reinbothe (born 1980 in Berlin). Using sturdy, durable canvas stitched with delicate, semi-transparent chiffon, the artist examines the processes of image making. Twin Sisters (2022) by Astha Butail (born 1977 in Amritsar, India) establishes a palpable connection with the viewer. The visual translation of Butail’s preoccupation with oral traditions gives this installation its fragile equilibrium.

The exhibition draws associative, thematic and art-historical links between the works, thus widening the focus from just the collection itself to exhibition practices as a whole. What changes when works of art are presented together? What stories are constructed, what connections or contradictions emerge, and how does this space between the white walls function?

While the collection forms the thematic anchor of the exhibition, the narrative is by no means static. The exhibition is composed of two acts: the first act explicitly invites visitors to share their perspectives and help shape the way the collection is presented. PEAC Museum thus becomes a space for exchange and coming together, not only within the museum and “between the white walls”, but also extended into outdoor space: for the first time, a new installation by artist Zora Kreuzer (*1986 in Bonn, lives and works in Berlin) will be shown on the exterior façade of PEAC Museum. The work made of neon tubes engages with the strict geometry of the industrial façade and uses the corrugated sheet metal to create organic, dancing light reflections.

In the exhibition’s second act (from June 7, 2024), the museum will be transformed once again and will show the future winner(s) of the Paul Ege Art Prize 2024 alongside the collection works on display. The prize is awarded every three years in cooperation with the city of Freiburg and is aimed at emerging artists from the tri-border region who are selected by an independent jury of experts.

To mark the 20th anniversary of PEAC Museum, a new collection catalog will be published that traces the exhibition and collection history from 2015 to 2024. The early years of the exhibition space, initially named Kunstraum Alexander Bürkle (2004 to 2014), are documented in the previous volume Sammeln, um zu Sehen (Collecting as seeing).

Participating artists include: Paul Ahl, Marc Angeli, Frank Badur, Joachim Bandau, Stephan Baumkötter, Tom Benson, Reto Boller, Astha Butail, Max Cole, Rudolf de Crignis, Rolf-Gunter Dienst, Joseph Egan, Henrik Eiben, Paul Fägerskiöld, Rupprecht Geiger, Florian Haas, Marcia Hafif, Katharina Hinsberg, Günther Holder, Gottfried Honegger, Ben Hübsch, Alfonso Hüppi, Sophie Innmann, Donald Judd, Judith Kakon, Dieter Kiessling, Martina Klein, Imi Knoebel, Brigitte Kowanz, Zora Kreuzer, Russel Maltz, Joseph Marioni, Annette Merkenthaler, Michael Mathias Prechtel, David Rabinowitch, Franziska Reinbothe, Michael Reisch, Winston Roeth, Reiner Ruthenbeck, Antonio Scaccabarozzi, Adrian Schiess, Astrid Schindler, Anna Schütten, Paul Schwer, David Semper, Phil Sims, Anne Sterzbach, Maria Tachmann, Michael Toenges, Peter Tollens, Günter Umberg, Michael Venezia

The exhibition is curated by Lea Altner and Eveline Weber (on parental leave), who took over as joint directors of PEAC Museum in February 2023.

Press contact

Corinna Wolfien
Books Communication Art
mail@corinnawolfien.com
+49 (0)175 56 76046

About PEAC Museum

PEAC Museum is an exhibition venue for modern and contemporary art with frequently changing exhibitions. The museum is located in Freiburg on the premises of the Alexander Bürkle company, which is run by the third generation of the Ege family. The exhibition space, which opened in 2004 under the name “Kunstraum Alexander Bürkle”, covers around 1,000 square meters and has been a professional exhibition venue ever since. Since fall 2019, the former Kunstraum has been operating under the name PEAC Museum.

PEAC Museum
Robert-Bunsen-Strasse 5
79108 Freiburg i. Breisgau
Tel. +49 (0) 761/5106 600
E-Mail presse@peac.digital
www.peac.digital
@peac.digital

Tuesday–Friday from 11 a.m.–5 p.m
Sundays and public holidays from 11 a.m.–5 p.m
Admission is free.