25 years, 13 artists, 12 lectures

with Christian Spies,The miracle of Siegen. Reversible images in Sigmar Polke's paintings, Universität zu Köln & MGKSiegen

Lecture series to mark the anniversary of MGKSiegen in cooperation with the Art History Department at the University of Siegen

With Christian Berger, Thomas Thiel, Gertrud Koch, Anne Becker, Rebekka Seubert, Jessica Schiefer, Lea Weckert, Isabelle Malz, Christian Spies, Martina Dobbe, Barbara Engelbach und Eva Schmidt, u v.m.

Location: Campus Unteres Schloss, US-C 105

12 May
Rebekka Seubert (Ludwig Forum Aachen)
Loss and survival with Mariana Castillo Deball

The work of Mariana Castillo Deball (born 1975 in Mexico City, lives in Berlin and Mexico City) operates at the intersection of art, science, history and archaeology. In her installations, which incorporate ceramics, drawing, printmaking, sound and photography, she explores how knowledge is shaped and transformed by power structures. A central motif of her work is the experience of loss, a concomitant of modernity (Andreas Reckwitz). For Mariana Castillo Deball, this experience is primarily an engagement with cultural loss and the accompanying fragmentation of knowledge and narratives. Lived culture becomes material culture, becomes a fragment as a remnant of the past in the present. In its survival, the fragment is subject to misunderstandings, undergoes overwriting and changes its meaning.

Rebekka Seubert has been Director of the Ludwig Forum for International Art in Aachen since 2026. Prior to this, she headed the Dortmunder Kunstverein from 2020 to 2026. In 2025, she worked there with Mariana Castillo Deball on the solo exhibition “Stringing Beads”, which featured extensive new work.

19 May
Isabelle Malz (Art Collection of North Rhine-Westphalia, Düsseldorf) “Have fun!” – Charlotte Posenenske’s radically consistent withdrawal from art

2 June
Christian Spies (University of Cologne & MGKSiegen)
The miracle of Siegen. Tilted paintings in the work of Sigmar Polke

9 June
Lena Henke (New York)
Unforced Error – Sculpture, Series and Body Images of Recent Years (Online Lecture)

16 June
Martina Dobbe (Düsseldorf Art Academy)
Hilla & Bernd Becher. Works and Contexts

23 June
Thomas Thiel (MGKSiegen)
Miriam Cahn. From TRAUMBEFEHL to STILL LEBEN

30 June
Barbara Engelbach (Museum Ludwig, Cologne)
Diana Thater: Broken Circle

7 July
Eva Schmidt (Siegen)
Niele Toroni and the broad field of painting

14 July
Christian Berger (University of Siegen)
Bridget Riley’s place in art history

Organised by
Prof. Dr Christian Berger, Chair of Art History, University of Siegen
www.kunst-uni-siegen.de/institut-kunst/kunstgeschichte
Thomas Thiel, Director, Museum of Contemporary Art Siegen
www.mgksiegen.de

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