Within the framework of the series “In the Städel Garden”, the Düsseldorf artist Manuel Franke (b. 1964) has developed an artwork of monumental dimensions—50 metres long and 2.5 metres high—for the garden of the Städel Museum. From 20 June to 23 September, this expansive gesture lent the Städel Garden a new and very palpable boundary between the museum and the Städelschule. Half sculpture, half painting, Colormaster F responded to the lawn—a green surface bounded by buildings on three sides—with a curved membrane in vivid monochrome colours. An insurmountable obstacle, Franke’s object on the one hand blocked the view, while on the other hand giving visitors the opportunity to experience the hill at the garden’s centre in a whole new way. Colormaster F did not only change the garden in terms of its spatial constellation, but also created a further, additional space, both open and closed, inside it. The artwork moreover invited visitors to play, explore and pass time, thus offering an entirely new and interactive experience of the familiar Städel Garden all summer long.
Curators: Dr. Martin Engler (Head of Contemporary Art, Städel Museum), Iris Hasler (Assistant Curator, Städel Museum)
Support: The work was realized with support from Dyckerhoff Beton.