“Collections on the Move” at Villa Vauban

(DB) “Collections on the Move”, a concept first presented by the Villa Vauban in the summer of 2012, is now in its second round, showing a new selection of art works from the museum's collection until January 5, 2014.

To keep its art works "alive", the art museum regularly pulls items from its collection for thematic exhibitions and to display particular works individually.

“The thematic rooms should bring people closer to art history,” curator Gabriele D. Grawe said at a press conference on Friday. The museum aims to show “a dialogue of paintings, drawings and sculptures of different styles and epochs” in the form of a “creative confrontation.”

The innovative interplay, or the "movement", between the different works, which range from the 17th to the 20th Century, is created by arranging them according to their themes or artistic methods. “We want to show that themes can be dealt with in many different ways,” Grawe explained.

The exhibition gives art lovers the opportunity to expand their perception and understanding of classical as well as contemporary art.

Dutch and French paintings

The first part of the collection especially focuses on Dutch and French paintings, encompassing motifs such as churches and abbeys, biblical scenes and the peasantry, as well as interior and landscape paintings.

Special attention will be given to Flemish painter David Teniers, who is famous for his taverna scenes. Other artists include Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Bartholomeus van Bassen, Mathieu Kirsch and Isidore Dagnan.

Many of the paintings were in a neglected condition and had to be restored for the exhibition, but restoring the paintings or repairing and re-gilding the frames is one one piece of the puzzle. “The restoration is only one part, you also have to think about how to present the works of art to the public,” explained Gisèle Reuter, who works as a restorer for the project.

Works that have never been on display before

During the summer, the exhibition will also take place in the extension of the Villa with works by Luxembourg artists such as Jean-Baptiste Fresez, Michel Weyler, Jean-Pierre Calteux or Lily Unden.

“Le sourire du souvenir” (The Smile of Memory) by Frank Jons recalls the colourful expressionist “drippings” of the 1940s whereas Jean-Marie Biwer deals with the different facets of nature in his oil painting "Eternity Audible in a Stone".

Some of the works have never been on display before. The main themes of this part of the collection, which runs from July 20 to September 8, are still life, flowers and plants, landscape and the city as well as portraits and sculptures.

With the slogan “OLD.MAKES.NEW.”, the Villa Vauban also presents five projects as part of the exhibition series Atelier Luxembourg. Four art projects by Luxembourg artists, dealing with the Villa Vauban itself from different perspectives, will be exhibited inside and around the Villa until December 2013.

For more information about the exhibition go to villavauban.lu