Kunsthalle Bielefeld
Artur-Ladebeck-Straße 5
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Play, Life, Illusion. Xanti Schawinsky + Monster Chetwynd “Xanti Shenanigans”

+ Monster Chetwynd. Xanti Shenanigans


Media guide

Art A to Z

Press material

From March 15 to June 15, 2025, the Kunsthalle Bielefeld is presenting the exhibition “Play, Life, Illusion. Xanti Schawinsky” with the intervention “Xanti Shenanigans” by Monster Chetwynd.

The exhibition is the first comprehensive retrospective of the early Bauhaus artist Alexander “Xanti” Schawinsky (1904-1979) in Germany for over 35 years. Schawinsky’s multidisciplinary work is characterized by the spirit of the Bauhaus, where the artist studied in the 1920s, and Black Mountain College, where he taught in the 1930s. The creative means with which the artist has experimented in the six decades of his work include staging, stage design, photography, graphic design, painting and typography. The exhibition reviews his entire career, from his early works, which are characterized by questions of stage space and the relationship between man and machine, to his process-oriented paintings from the 1950s and 1960s. As part of the exhibition, Monster Chetwynd (*1973) will conceive the expansive installation “Xanti Shenanigans”, which refers to Schawinsky’s work.

 

 

The exhibition is organized in cooperation with the Mudam Luxembourg – Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean in collaboration with the estate of Xanti Schawinsky.

Guest curator: Raphael Gygax

The exhibition is sponsored by the Kulturstiftung Kunsthalle Bielefeld and the Kulturstiftung Dr. Dagmar Nowitzky.

Logo Foundation for Culture Kunsthalle Bielefeld. Font without serif.
Druck
Black and white photo of a man in a checkered shirt. He is holding a pencil in his right hand, pointing at something outside the picture. Behind him, adult pupils are sitting and drawing something.
Xanti Schawinsky as a teacher at Black Mountain College, photo (detail): Helen M. Post, c. 1937, © Helen M. Post
In the background, a vertical color gradient from black to beige to red-orange. On top of this are various shapes in different colors, primarily in shades of blue and red. In between, objects drawn with thin lines, reminiscent of a spotlight and cannon barrel.
Xanti Schawinsky, Camouflaged Outpost, 1942, watercolor, tempera and colored pencil on paper, courtesy of the Xanti Schawinsky Estate
The surface of the picture looks like crumpled and unfolded paper. It is colored orange on the left and blue in the rest of the picture.
Xanti Schawinsky, Incontro II, 1968, spray paint and acrylic on canvas, courtesy of Xanti Schawinsky Estate
A person in a large paper bag. She is wearing a glittering bodysuit and white stripes on her face. There are also paper strips in the background. These and the paper bag are wrinkled and colored blue and red in the folds.
Performance “Xanti Shananigans” by Monster Chetwynd at Mudam, photo: Makoto Okubo
v.l.n.r.: Monster Chetwynd, Christina Végh (Direktorin Kunsthalle Bielefeld), Laura Rehme (Kunsthalle Bielefeld), Dr Raphael Gygax (Gastkurator) vor einem abstrakten Gemälde
Kunsthalle Bielefeld Ausstellung Play, Life, Illusion. Xanti Schawinsky + Monster Chetwynd „Xanti Shenanigans“ Monster Chetwynd, Christina Végh (Director Kunsthalle Bielefeld), Laura Rehme (Kunsthalle Bielefeld), Dr Raphael Gygax (Guest curator) Foto: Philipp Ottendörfer
Black and white photo of five people on a stage. All of them are wearing black with constructs of wide white stripes on top. Two of the people have the stripes hanging down over their entire bodies. Two others have them wrapped around their bodies in upright loops.
Xanti Schawinsky, Untitled, undated, ca. 1936, black and white photograph, courtesy of Xanti Schawinsky Estate

Highlights

Tickets

The Bauhaus Theater was full of experiments.
Experience it for yourself and be inspired by Xanti Schawinsky’s works such as the spectodrama scenes or stage studies. Together we explore this creative world of shapes, colors, light, sound and movement and develop our own theatrical and choreographic forms of expression. During two workshops we will work together on a small performance piece, which we will perform on Friday, May 30 at 7 p.m. in the stage set by Monster Chetwynd in the Kunsthalle.

The workshops can also be attended independently of each other. However, registration is required for participation.
Please also let us know how many workshops you would like to take part in and whether you can attend the performance.

Dates:
Thu, 01.5.25, 2 – 5 p.m.
Thu, 29.5.25, 2 – 5 p.m.
Fri, 30.5.25 7 p.m. Performance

Registration at:
info@kunsthalle-bielefeld.de
T 0521 32999500

In cooperation with the Theaterwerkstatt Bethel

Logo of the Theaterwerkstatt Bethel. White lettering in a black box. On the far right, a white rectangle with a red X at the top.

Tickets

On this evening we will trace the experimental works of Xanti Schawinsky.
The performance was created in a two-day workshop led by Theaterwerkstatt Bethel. Inspired by works such as spectodrama scenes or stage studies, the participants have combined forms, colors, light, sound and movement to create their own theatrical and choreographic form of expression. The result is now being performed in the stage set by Monster Chetwynd in the Kunsthalle.

Secure your place at:
info@kunsthalle-bielefeld.de
T 0521 32999500

In cooperation with the Theaterwerkstatt Bethel

Logo of the Theaterwerkstatt Bethel. White lettering in a black box. On the far right, a white rectangle with a red X at the top.

Calender

Events

Tickets

Guided tour of our current exhibitions.

anmeldung@kunsthalle-bielefeld.de
T 0521 329995018

Tickets

Guided tour of our current exhibitions.

anmeldung@kunsthalle-bielefeld.de
T 0521 329995018

Welcome to Bielefeld!
Welcome to the Kunsthalle!
The Open House sees itself as a safe space for all people who have had to experience flight. You can take part in free creative workshops in the painting room once a month.

Would you like to get to know the Kunsthalle and its exhibitions? Looking at pictures, talking about them and being creative yourself? If you’re between the ages of 5 and 12, you’re welcome to join us every Saturday (except school vacations) from 11am to 1pm at the Kunsthalle’s Painting Room!
Offer for children unaccompanied by adults.

Tickets

During this guided tour through the exhibition “XY” you will get to know the works through descriptions. And you will learn something about the background.

It is necessary to buy a ticket for the event in advance or to register at:
anmeldung@kunsthalle-bielefeld.de
T 0521 329995018

KB Journal

Artist interview with Lars Rosenbohm

A slim man, about 50 years old, wearing a brown T-shirt and blue jeans, leaning against the frame of a room door. He is wearing horn-rimmed glasses with thin brown frames. In the background are stretcher frames and paintings wrapped in bubble wrap.

The Bielefeld artist Lars Rosenbohm explores the human condition in his haunting, sometimes disturbing depictions and reflects experiences of our time. Questions for the artist about his work from curator Felicitas von Richthofen.

A slim man, about 50 years old, wearing a brown T-shirt and blue jeans, leaning against the frame of a room door. He is wearing horn-rimmed glasses with thin brown frames. In the background are stretcher frames and paintings wrapped in bubble wrap.

Thomas Handke: What does the Kunsthalle Bielefeld sound like?
Cooperation with the HSBI 2022/23

Yana Wernicke: From quarry to art gallery – the red Main sandstone
Cooperation with the HSBI 2022/23

Rising red sandstone in the quarry with traces of cut stones.
Rising red sandstone in the quarry with traces of cut stones.

Vincent Hölscher: Engine room
Cooperation with the HSBI 2022/23

Galvanised pipework, partly at right angles.
Galvanised pipework, partly at right angles.