Martin Neubert solo exhibition at Keramikmuseum Westerwald

Martin Neubert’s solo exhibition is on view at Keramikmuseum Westerwald, Germany

September 5 – October 14, 2020

Martin Neubert receives the Southwest German Ceramics Prize, awarded for the second time in 2020.

The very high sculptural quality and his emotional figurative works convinced the jury.

Neubert depicts the human figure in a sensitive, nuanced manner, guided by respect and esteem. He directs his attention primarily to the outsiders, to the losers or the “clowns” on the fringes of society. He creates expressive images of them, which can evoke happiness but also sadness, awaken empathy but also disturb.

Especially the dignified and loving portraits of fragile individuals convinced the jury. Neuberts artistic potential is equally impressive. His figures evoke a broad spectrum of ambivalent feelings in the viewer. The disruption and imbalance of his characters, their inner movement, are also reflected in Neuberts works. He builds up his figures like a collage and expresses their complexity in a figurative sense. Always present is Neuberts passionate handling of the ceramic material, his joy in – as he himself puts it – “sticking” individual components together.

Martin Neubert takes a clear position with his work and shows courage: he focuses on the non-conformist in terms of content and aesthetics, he accentuates the oppressive and spurns the pleasing. Neubert declares himself the mouthpiece of the outsiders: “I am moved by the handicapped everyday not-heroes who try to overcome obstacles and breaks. The “nervous boys” around the corner, who can’t help to be a little bit out of touch. Failures and mistakes make the final picture – the goal is a credibly formulated confidence.

The Southwest German Ceramics Prize is awarded by the SV Sparkassenversicherung every three years. The prize, which is endowed with 10,000 euros, is awarded to ceramic artists from one of the four SV SparkassenVersicherung support regions – Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Thuringia. Cooperation partners are the BdK Bund der Kunsthandwerker Baden-Württemberg e. V., the Keramikmuseum Westerwald and the Badische Landesmuseum Karlsruhe.

The jury, consisting of Wolfgang Lösche (Munich Chamber of Crafts / Handwerkskammer München), Reinhold Ludwig (publisher of the magazine Art Aurea) and Johannes Nagel (artist), together with Heidrun Jecht (Badisches Landesmuseum) and Dr. Nele van Wieringen (Keramikmuseum Westerwald), nominated a total of 10 artists: Monika Debus / Uwe Löllmann / Martin Neubert / Heide Nonnenmacher / Sebastian Scheid / Martin Schlotz / Guido Sengle / Sebastian Stöhrer / Thomas Weber / Song Zhifeng.

Jury statement on the award of the Südwestdeutscher Keramikpreis 2020

Contact
+49 (0) 2624 94 60 10
kontakt@keramikmuseum.de

Keramikmuseum Westerwald
Lindenstraße 13
56203 Höhr-Grenzhausen
Germany

Photos by Helge Articus. Courtesy of Keramikmuseum Westerwald.