Kataklump - eine Idee. Heinrich Campendonk, Paul van Ostaijen, Fritz Stuckenberg

The Museum Penzberg - Sammlung Campendonk presents an exhibition exploring the friendship between visual artists Heinrich Campendonk (1889-1957) and Fritz Stuckenberg (1881-1944), alongside poet Paul van Ostaijen (1896-1928). This intriguing trio's artistic visions collide with the realities of life in the early Weimar Republic and their future aspirations. The focal point of the exhibition lies between the rural Seeshaupt and the artistic metropolis of Berlin during the years 1919 to 1921.

At Starnberger See, a semblance of an artists' colony emerged, where creatives exchanged ideas while seeking new artistic forms of modernity to inspire the movement following the 'Blauer Reiter.' The proposed manifesto, titled 'Kataklump,' references a Flemish onomatopoeic word for galloping horses. Through their artistic works and correspondence, the exhibition offers fresh, often intimate insights into their lives.

Fritz Stuckenberg, a true urbanite, found himself in Seeshaupt from October 1919 to August 1921, not entirely voluntarily. He sought artistic inspiration in this rural idyll, hoping for better living conditions, similar to those experienced by artists like Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, and Heinrich Campendonk. Poet Paul van Ostaijen supported Stuckenberg's idea of moving closer to Campendonk. Their visit in July 1919 fostered a deep, mutually inspiring friendship between the artist and the poet.

An intense and personal correspondence developed between the avant-garde artists in Oberbayern and Berlin, providing intimate glimpses into their lives and work situations. The letters depict their quest for new forms of expression, their plans, and the struggles for visibility amid bourgeois moral standards.

This exhibition, in collaboration with the Haus Coburg | Städtische Galerie Delmenhorst, which holds Stuckenberg's estate, displays paintings, watercolors, graphics, and poems from the three artists. Works by their colleagues Georg Muche and Arnold Topp, who were also meant to contribute to 'Kataklump,' are included. Despite the project remaining an idea, the artistic and written exchanges allow for a late realization of their once-failed plans. Additionally, works from the STURM circle of Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Kurt Schwitters, Walter Dexel, and William Wauer complete the portrayal of these tumultuous years.

The exhibition will feature a supporting program with guided tours on Sundays at 11:00 AM, workshops, art and wine events, and more, running until June 22.