Preface

 

The theme for 2025 was “The Missing Link.” We found this idea exciting because it originates from evolutionary biology and suggests that certain things fall by the wayside in the course of development. In other words, In this ongoing, evolving process, certain information is lost or becomes irrelevant. When applied to the themes of our exhibition, this idea offered a diverse range of considerations that we couldn't resist, whether in the major special exhibitions ROOTED AND BRANCHED and MAGICAL WOMEN or in our smaller shows, such as A GARDEN OF FLOWERS in the study hall and BENEATH THE SURFACE in DAS Forum.

... Yes, it's always difficult to say. As the director of an institution, you inevitably become the biggest fan of your entire team and all its activities—and should be. I particularly enjoyed the projects in which I was more involved this year, including in a curatorial capacity. One such project was the exhibition A Garden Full of Flowers by artist Lilla Tabasso, on which we collaborated closely with her. She chose a book from our collection and developed her glass works based on it. Being able to accompany her from the first studio visit to the actual exhibition here on site was my personal highlight.

2025 was a great year. It demonstrated the diversity of our exhibitions, projects, and programs. It was especially great that two of our 2024 exhibitions "migrated" and were displayed in other cities after ending here. TRUE TO SCALE moved to Munich, and the exhibition LANGUAGE/TEXT/IMAGE was on display at the Arthena Foundation, KAI 10, in Düsseldorf until the end of the year.

Lastly, we are pleased to have been so well received in the immediate region. More and more people are finding their way to us and sharing their enthusiasm for our exhibitions in Mettingen. We are becoming more and more established here, which is great. At the same time, we naturally want to reach out, which is why we made it our mission. This has led to collaborations, such as our work with Belgian artist Luc Tuymans in Venice, where we presented an exhibition of his work at the Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore. We also presented Renee von Bavel's artwork, The Mirror of Peace, to a larger international audience in Ljubljana, Slovenia, as part of the Global Heart Summit's international art program. The artwork is located in our garden.