Aptly named “Points of View”, three immense bronze sculptures designed by Tony Cragg wind upwards like cork screws, just a few steps away from Niki de Saint Phalle’s “Nana dansante bleue” dancing in a colorful dress next to the monumental work “Pi” by Lun Tuchonwski. A total of 55 pieces of art by renowned sculptures adorn the grounds of Carmen Würth Forum, pointing the way to the new Museum Würth 2. Designed by star architects at David Chipperfield Architects, the extension was inaugurated at the end of June, complementing the existing convention center with a conference area and an art museum. This building complex was creating to unite art, culture and business, the likes of which one would ordinarily only see in large cities, crowning the Hohenlohe region in southwest Germany like an acropolis.
“TRANSPOSED INTO THE INNER WORKINGS OF CARMEN WÜRTH FORUM, REINHOLD WÜRTH’S CORE BELIEFS REGARDING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN ART, CULTURE AND WORK CULMINATE QUITE COMPELLINGLY.”
C. Sylvia Weber
Just a stone throw’s away from Würth’s headquarters, where it all began for businessman Prof. Dr. h. c. mult. Reinhold Würth, acclaimed works of modern and contemporary art from his collection have found a home. The exhibition area, encompassing roughly 1,150 square meters, extends across a vast main hall upstairs and a small, protected gallery for light-sensitive works downstairs. In the belvedere, floor-to-ceiling windows grant visitors a view of the sculpture garden and the surrounding landscape all the way to the Waldenburg Mountains, joining the inside and the outdoors, while connecting architecture, art and nature.
The opening exhibition “The Long View. Reinhold Würth and His Art” presents 200 key pieces from the collection from the late 19th, the 20th and the 21st century. At the same time, they reflect the collector’s personal predilections. “Our goal was to create a space for contemporary and modern highlights from the Würth Collection. It was an absolute pleasure to select works from Reinhold Würth’s ‘personal’ collection that are particularly close to his heart, some of which have accompanied him for decades,” said C. Sylvia Weber, Director of the Würth Collection. Whoever passes through the five-meter-high rooms flooded in light with a frosted glass ceiling will encounter classic artists of modernism such as Max Beckmann, Pablo Picasso and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner on display alongside the greats of contemporary art such as David Hockney, Georg Baselitz and Anselm Kiefer.
“IN MY OPINION, HE DOES NOT COLLECT IN ORDER TO OWN SOMETHING BUT RATHER TO SHARE SOMETHING, TO ENRICH THE COMMUNITY AND TO PRESERVE CULTURAL ASSETS.”
Maria Würth
The exhibition title could not be more fitting: Vision is an attribute that defines Reinhold Würth in a very special way. He has led his company with vision for over 65 years. It was his vision that allowed him to acquire art while at the same time running his business. Over the course of 50 years, he accumulated a private collection that is now among the largest in Europe with over 18,300 pieces. Direct contact with the artists themselves is very important to him. He even maintains close friendships with a few of them. “Many such long-standing relationships with artists have influenced the Würth Collection, creating a multi-faceted and individual perspective,” said art historian Maria Würth. The granddaughter of Carmen and Reinhold Würth and daughter of Bettina and Markus Würth is a member of the Würth Group’s Art Advisory Board.
MUSEUM WÜRTH 2
Museum Würth 2 is open daily between April and September from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and between October and March from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The opening hours may vary during events in Carmen Würth Forum.
The digital Museum Würth 2:
The Museum Würth 2 app offers visitors a personal guide through the museum. The app is available free of charge in German and English from the App Store and Google Play. Guides can be rented on site.
MUSEUM WÜRTH 2
in Carmen Würth Forum
Am Forumsplatz 1
74653 Künzelsau
Reinhold Würth even enjoyed a long friendship with renowned wrapping artist Christo, who died earlier this year in May. “I met Christo in Hamburg and we hit it off straightaway,” recalled Würth. “I simply asked him if he might be interested in wrapping something for us at our headquarters in Künzelsau.” The result of this encounter: In 1995, Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude wrapped the inside of Museum Würth in panels of fabric and wrapping paper. The project “Wrapped floors and stairways and covered windows” was a tremendous success, considered to be the largest interior wrapping ever achieved by Christo. With more than 130 exhibits, this American-Bulgarian artist’s work represents a mainstay in the Würth Collection. Numerous wrapped projects by Christo are also on display in the new Würth Museum 2. Reinhold Würth used his unique “vision” not for himself but first and foremost to grant his employees and the public at large direct and free access to art, thus broadening the perspective of all visitors.
AS I NEAR THE END OF MY LIFE AT THE AGE OF 85, I CONSIDER THE COMPLETION OF CARMEN WÜRTH FORUM TO REPRESENT A CERTAIN END POINT IN MY PERSONAL LIFE AND IN MY PROFESSIONAL CAREER.”
Reinhold Würth