ABSOLVENTUM photo exhibition
Credit: Verena Weihberg
Numerous students responded to the call of the ABSOLVENTUM Photo Contest 2023 and submitted their photographs under the motto “Typical student life”. A selection of over 25 photographs showing everyday student life is on display in the corridor of the President's Office in the east wing of the Schloss. Among others, the winning photo by Verena Weihberg can be seen: It shows students at a party at the Schneckenhof.
Ariane Hagl: “Aufgerissen” (ripped open)
Credit: Luisa Gebhardt
Since September 2019, the Munich artist Ariane Hagl has been displaying nearly 100 of her works in the exhibition called “Aufgerissen” at the University of Mannheim. She painted some of her artworks specifically for the exhibition. Black and white collages are on display on the ground floor in the Schloss Ostflügel, and colorful works can be seen in the halls of the library administration as well as in the Central Lending Library of the Schloss Westflügel.
Robert Häusser: “Lebens-Räume” (living spaces)
Credit: Robert Häusser
Häusser's black and white photographs capture landscape and buildings devoid of people and show perspectives as well as lighting conditions that could hardly be perceived with the naked eye. In February 2011, the exhibition “Lebens-Räume” (living spaces) by the Mannheim artist Robert Häusser was launched in collaboration with the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen on the first floor of the Schloss Ostflügel. 19 large-format photos of his group of works “Behausungen” (housings) are exhibited there. In 1995, the internationally renowned photographer of the post-war period was the first German to receive the “Hasselblad Award” which is considered the “Nobel Prize of photography”.
Robert Häusser corridor in the Schloss Westflügel
Credit: Andreas Bayerl
Since April 2016, more works by photographer Robert Häusser have been on display in the renovated Westflügel of the Schloss. In addition to Häusser’s exhibition “Lebens-Räume” (living spaces) in the Schloss Ostflügel, another eight large-format pictures from various groups of his artistic oeuvre are presented on the first floor in the Westflügel.
Horst Hamann: “5 Stationen” (5 stations)
Credit: Horst Hamann
With its high walls and wide corridors, the Schloss seems ideal for Horst Hamann’s panoramic photos. Since June 2014, the University of Mannheim has been displaying about 70 works of the Mannheim artist.
The photographer achieved an international breakthrough in New York. With “New York Vertical” he captured the metropolis from a completely new perspective. The panoramic format – whether vertically or horizontally – plays an essential role in his work, as does his second home, the USA. The exhibition “5 Stationen” at the University of Mannheim displays some of his most important panoramic works. At the same time, it shows his beginnings and also presents Mannheim in an extreme photo format.
Art in the Senatssaal
The painting “Hafen” by Fred Emmerich has been hanging in the Senatssaal since August 2023. The Mannheim painter combines numerous international influences in his art. The work was created 10 years ago and a closer look reveals that it has been painted over again and again. It shows colorful boats in muted colors anchored on a lake and a grey sky.
Adhesive tape animals in the Hasso Plattner Library
Credit: Thomas Tröster
In the reading room of the Hasso Plattner Library, visitors can admire a very exceptional piece of art by Ina Grützbach: an animal art sculpture made entirely of adhesive tape.
The Artgenossen, young art lovers of the association of the Kunsthalle Mannheim, have given their art acquisitions to the university as a permanent loan. The photographer, sculptor, and multimedia artist Ina Grützbach uses diverse materials in her work, leaving the viewer in awe.
Hays Forum: changing exhibitions
Credit: Elisa Berdica
In the Hays Forum in the foyer of the Schneckenhof Ost, exhibitions change on a regular basis. This is made possible by the personnel service provider Hays, which is part of the “Renaissance of the Baroque Castle”. The Mannheim gallery theuer + scherr is responsible for selecting the artworks.
Graffiti artwork in the Mannheim Business Administration Library
Various internationally renowned graffiti artists show their works in the Business Administration Library and transform it into an art gallery. The works impress with their graphic imagery and encourage the viewers to make their own interpretations. The exhibition is a permanent loan from Mannheim graduate Christian Hoste.
Heftige Malerei (wild paintings): On loan from the Deutsche Bank
Credit: Jirí Georg Dokoupil
Intense colors, dynamic gestures—in the late 1970s, the representatives of the “Heftige Malerei” (wild paintings) consciously set themselves apart from the existing movements of minimal or concept art. With their neo-expressive paintings, the young generation of that time vitalized the medium of painting. The Sammlung Deutsche Bank owns a significant collection of paintings and works on paper by these artists. A selection of these works has been on loan to the Hasso Plattner Library in the Mittelbau of the Schloss since 2008.