BUILDING

The Kunstverein Bielefeld is housed in the Waldhof, a manor farm once belonging to local nobility, built in the style of the Weser renaissance and dating from the 16th century. It is located in the old town centre of Bielefeld. Certain parts of its substance date back to the time of Bielefeld’s foundation as a city in the 13th century. The Waldhof’s forty square metre vaults hail from the Gothic era.

HIREAGE

The vaults offer a particularly atmospheric setting for events. It can be hired by private individuals or by firms and has room for a maximum of 30 people. Should this be of interest, you are welcome to assure yourself of its special atmosphere in situ, whilst we will be pleased to advise you on your individual needs. We are looking forward to receiving your inquiries at kontakt@kunstverein-bielefeld.de or oder +49 (0) 521.17 88 06.

Permanent installed works

In the inner courtyard of the Kunstverein Bielefeld, the works Tisch (Table) (1988) by Reinhard Buxel, and 1990 (1990) by Maria Dompè can be visited. Besides our opening hours, the courtyard is open during the week from 9:00–18:00. The installation Der Morgen (The Morning) (2000) by Elisabeth Masé can be viewed by appointment in the vault of the Kunstverein. Please contact us at kontakt@kunstverein-bielefeld.de or +49 (0) 521.17 88 06.


FURTHER INFORMATION

REINHARD BUXEL
TISCH (TABLE), 1988
Sandstone, installed in the courtyard of the Kunstverein

The sculptor Reinhard Buxel (born 1953, Amshausen; died 2016, Salzkotten) redefined the relation between natural materials and imposed form with his large-format stone sculptures, comprised of individual, tightly-closed blocks. Buxel’s works are marked by a lively contrast and balance between opposed formal principles: rest and movement, line and volume, weight and weighed-upon. His sculpture’s basic architectural and geometric forms are reminiscent of prehistoric and ancient cult statues, but are also shaped by their idiom of modernist form. Like Buxel’s other works, Tisch (Table) is infused with the tension between nature and culture, between the individual stone pieces and the unified whole. The title refers to a possible furniture function – as a picnic table, an altar or the centerpiece of a gathering – but ultimately refuses any fixed functional definition. Tisch (Table) was installed in the former Kunstverein sculpture courtyard as part of the artists‘ festival Artibus ‘89.


MARIA DOMPÈ
1990, 1990
Dolomite rock, rope, installed in the courtyard of the Kunstverein

The work of Maria Dompè (born 1959, Fermo, Italy) makes reference to social events: she creates site-specific sculptures which generate a dialogue between sites and their history. As part of Artibus '90, Dompè was a guest artist for a week at the Kunstverein, where she used the inner courtyard as an outdoor studio. The sculpture she produced, 1990, refers both spatially and historically to the former asylum window built into the wall of the Waldhof building. As an aristocratic seat, the Waldhof was a place of asylum from city law. The polished side of the Dolomite rock sculpture is turned toward what was once the passage through the wall, now closed up, with the sculpture picking up the form of the passage. In this way, Dompè’s 1990 makes direct reference to the opening of the Berlin Wall.


ELISABETH MASÉ
DER MORGEN (THE MORNING), 2000
Site-specific installation in the vault of the Kunstverein

The arch in the Kunstverein cellar, built around 1200, is one of Bielefeld’s few remaining traces of medieval architecture. The space was altered substantially in the 1950s, and now serves the Kunstverein as a meeting room, storage space, and temporary exhibition space. For the installation Der Morgen (The Morning), the space was completely emptied out. The rear area, with its closed-in, protective ambience, contained a colorful, multi-part mobile. The red tabletop rests on five red cubes, the number representing the Kunstverein's board. Beside the long red table are two grey-silver benches; at its head stand two lilac-colored stools, cubic in form. A metallic midnight blue vase rests on the table, containing a white lily. The flower is creating a formal connection with the Gothic arch. Representations of the lily were at their most widespread in the thirteenth century; in the biblical tradition, the flower is seen as symbolizing election for salvation.