From Botero to Lüpertz

The International Artists' House Villa Concordia has been in Bamberg since 1997. Just one year later, the first exhibition took place as part of the "Modern Sculptures in Bamberg" series. This cycle started with works by Columbian sculptor Fernando Botero, whose sculptures triggered a cavalcade of letters and discussions among the local population even before the exhibition took place. His colossal, bloated bronze human and animal sculptures were displayed throughout the city, one of which stayed behind: The "Woman with Fruit" was the first sculpture to be purchased by the town, marking the beginning of the Sculpture Trail which starts at Heumarkt. She was followed by the "Large Figure 1982" on Pfahlplätzchen, created by sculptor Joannis Avramidis who was born in Greece, lives in Vienna and exhibited his abstract bronze sculptures in Bamberg in 1999. In the year 2000, Bamberg welcomed Igor Mitoraj who also works in bronze. The heads, torsos and figures created by the Polish-born artist who works in Paris and Pietransanta in Italy are inspired by the classical beauty of antiquity, but are distanced from it by conscious ruptures and damage to the works. His "Centurione I" is situated at Am Kranen by the Lower Bridge. After Mitoraj, the decision was made to stage an exhibition every other year. The next artist, Erwin Wortelkamp from Westerwald, presented his abstract wood and bronze sculptures in the summer of 2002. A topic close to his heart is "Art and Nature, Nature and Art". In doing so, he tackles the subject of humankind. Negotiations surrounding the purchase of one of his works are currently under way. The Sculpture Trail also includes the "Anchor" by Bernhard Luginbühl (Switzerland). Luginbühl uses discarded industrial designs and objects, such as ship propellors, chains and other iron objects, combining them to create new works of art that demonstrate how he sees civilisation and the environment. In the summer of 2006, Markus Lüpertz exhibited in Bamberg. The German painter and sculptor is a neo-expressionist whose archaic bronze sculptures never fail to provoke a reaction - in 2001, the artist removed "Aphrodites" from Augsburg following local protests.