Dieter Stein – „die Augen auswaschen“

In the organizer's words:

Dieter Stein would have been 100 years old in 2024 - an admittedly superficial occasion for a long overdue rediscovery of this great unknown artist personality of the post-war period in Germany.

As early as 1950, Dieter Stein attracted attention in his home town of Würzburg with the first abstract paintings ever to be shown here. The student of Josef Versl went on to become the most important protagonist of post-war modernism in the region. In the 1950s, he was involved in exhibitions of German contemporary art in Paris, Hamburg and Tokyo , among other places. His works can be found not only in the Museum im Kulturspeicher (MiK), but also in the Kahmen Collection on the Museumsinsel Hombroich, the Arp-Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck, the Städel Museum Frankfurt and the Lenbachhaus in Munich.

Dieter Stein has received recognition for his work in the Würzburg region and far beyond. In 1955, he received a scholarship from the Kulturkreis im Bundesverband der deutschen Industrie, followed by the Villa Massimo in Rome in 1960/61. He was awarded the Lower Franconian Culture Prize (1990) and the Würzburg Culture Prize (1992). He has had a lasting influence on artistic life in Lower Franconia through his exhibition, mediation and teaching activities as well as through his unconventional, even resistant position.

Over the decades, Dieter Stein developed his abstract formal language from the colorful early paintings to a sparse, elegant and exciting late work. In addition to the abstract paintings, Stein's figurative drawings and etchings, which reveal an unusual point of view and an original creativity and power, are particularly noteworthy. The MiK owns several works by the painter and draughtsman. These are shown in the exhibition together with works from the estate as well as loans from museum and private collections.

The exhibition "Dieter Stein" and the accompanying catalog are the first to trace his biography and artistic career in detail. Both aim to bring an artist back into focus for whom the task of art was above all to "wash out his eyes" - for a clear view, freed from conventions, both of his work and of social conditions.

The exhibition is being organized in close cooperation with Dieter Stein's heirs.

We cordially invite you to the opening of the exhibition "Dieter Stein - 'die Augen auswaschen'" on Friday, October 18, 2024. The opening begins at 7 pm. Admission to the foyer from 6.30 pm. The following will speak:

• Benedikt Stegmayer - on behalf of the Lord Mayor
  Head of the Department of Culture, Science and Economy of the City of Würzburg
• Marcus Andrew Hurttig - Director of the MiK
• Henrike Holsing - curator of the exhibition
• Peter Stein - son of the artist

The speeches will be translated into sign language.

Drinks can be purchased in the foyer to benefit the museum and the art.