Collection of the Michael Horbach Foundation
Exhibition to Celebrate the Opening of the Art Space 2011
The Art Space of the Michael Horbach Foundation was opened on May 1, 2011 with an exhibition showing a sampling of the founder's collection as well as his artist friends.
The first large room was dominated by large-scale works in oil and acrylic by the artist Heinz Zolper from Cologne. Zolper was born in 1949 and studied art in Dusseldorf and Cologne. Since 1974 he has shown work in numerous solo and group exhibitions both at home and abroad.
In the adjacent room, the Art Space presented Michael Horbach's photography collection titled Achselhaare. The collection is well known in the genre of nude photography and has been shown a number of times, including a showing in the Rheinische Landesmuseum in Bonn in 1995 under the title Die andere Seite der Schönheit. The collection includes works by Helmut Newton, Lee Friedlander, Olaf Martens and many others.
The third room was reserved for artists who had exhibited in Michael Horbach's former gallery. The exhibiting artists included, among others, Blalla Hallmann, Thomas Huber, Werner Wefers, Dieter Teusch, Karl Heidelbach, Francois Viscontini, Edgar Tezak, Heinz Zolper and Peter Angermann. Photographic works by various artists on the subjects of landscape and portrait were shown in the adjacent small "cabinet" room.
The fourth room of the Art Space was dedicated to erotic photography. In addition to works by the prize-winning photographer Thomas Karsten, photographs by Helmut Newton, Horst H., Kim Weston, Jock Sturges, Peter Fürst, Olaf Martens and Bettina Rheims were represented. One focus of the motives were portraits of nudes from the back as well as portraits of the back.
The sculptures by Dieter Teusch in space 4a created an interesting contrast to the paintings and photographs in the other rooms. The artist, born in 1940, works both as a painter and sculptor. Although his work is represented in numerous collections around the world, he prefers to remain anonymous and avoids the public art world. Teusch lives in Cologne and Marbella.
The fifth room in the Art Space belonged to Latin American photographers and winners of the Michael Horbach Foundation's photography award. Among others, works from award recipients Flor Garduño, Sebastiao Salgado, Raul Cañibano, Lucana and Juan Carlos Alom were shown.
Works by the Horbach Foundation's grant winner Pari Moradi formed the conclusion of the inaugural exhibition. The Iranian artist exhibited drawings and paintings under the title Traum und Realität.