Anneliese Bollengraben-Hülsenbeck – Malerei und Zeichnung

In the organizer's words:

It doesn't stay in the family: Paintings by Anneliese Bollengraben-Hülsenbeck - a new look at a Wuppertal artist

Exactly 20 years after her last exhibition, a Wuppertal artist can be rediscovered: around 30 paintings and drawings by Anneliese Bollengraben-Hülsenbeck can be seen in the foyer of the University Library from November 12. Free admission. Just over a year ago, the archive of the University of Wuppertal made an exciting acquisition: Paintings, drawings, texts and biographical documents of the Wuppertal artist Anneliese Bollengraben-Hülsenbeck (1920-2007). This generous gift from the family includes a dozen paintings from the artist's estate. Some of these mostly figurative and colorful works of art as well as other loans from the Bollengraben family can now be seen in the exhibition. The artist found inspiration for her works in texts by Else Lasker-Schüler as well as in the dance theater of Pina Bausch. However, flowers and gardens were particularly close to her heart - as were people. "I consciously work in color, although color has gone a bit out of fashion recently": this is how she described her work at an exhibition opening. Many of the works on display are executed in her preferred mixed technique, in which different painting materials such as ink, oil pastels and pastel or watercolor are combined in one picture. The drawings from the field of costume design and stage design close the artistic circle to Anneliese Bollengraben-Hülsenbeck's many years of teaching at the Werkkunstschule Wuppertal - a forerunner of today's Bergische Universität. Born in 1920 in Wuppertal-Elberfeld, Anneliese Hülsenbeck studied at the Meisterschule des deutschen Handwerks in Wuppertal from 1937 to 1941, where she graduated with distinction as a commercial artist. She then taught costume design there and in 1943 followed the former director of the master school, Professor Theodor Paul Etbauer, to the State Master School for Design Crafts in Salzburg. Her teaching there focused on costume design, art history and commercial art. Inspired by the painter Max Peiffer-Watenphul, who also taught in Salzburg, she began painting. Anneliese Hülsenbeck returned to Wuppertal in 1947 and taught costume design, fashion graphics and art history at the Werkkunstschule until 1962. From 1948 to 1950, she also worked as a graphic designer in the advertising department of the Märkische Seifenindustrie Witten/Ruhr. In 1954, she married the graphic designer and artist Horst Bollengraben (1926-1997). From 1962, she was self-employed in the field of industrial advertising and also worked as a journalist. However, an eye condition then severely restricted her artistic work. It was only after an eye operation in 1976 that Anneliese Hülsenbeck-Bollengraben began a further phase of artistic creation. A first solo exhibition took place in 1983 at the Backstubengalerie in Wuppertal-Elberfeld, and the artist was also represented in many group exhibitions, such as those of the BRAK artists' group, which she co-founded. In 1994, works by her and her husband were shown in an exhibition at the Sparkasse Wuppertal. A final exhibition took place in 2004 at the Lutherstift Wuppertal. Anneliese Bollengraben-Hülsenbeck died in Wuppertal in 2007. ---

The exhibition "Anneliese Bollengraben-Hülsenbeck - Painting and Drawing" can be seen from November 12 to December 4, 2024: In the foyer of the library (BZ.07) of the Bergische Universität Wuppertal, Gaußstr. 20. opening hours: Monday to Friday from 8 am to 10 pm Saturday from 10 am to 10 pm, Sunday from 10 am to 7 pm. Free admission. Vernissage: Tuesday, November 12, 2024, 6 pm Contact: University Archive Wuppertal, Dr. Friederike Jesse, archiv(at)uni-wuppertal.de