This past weekend we visited galleries during DC Open (Düsseldorf-Cologne Open Galleries) & attended the Finissage, or closing, of the group show “a beautiful place nearby” at 15 Wochen. DC Open spanned from the 4th to 6th, and our cohort, along with our professor Katrin Laade, walked through galleries in the Flingern area of Düsseldorf on Friday evening. These included Konrad Fischer Galerie, where David Douard’s works were on display, and Galerie Pfab, with the works of Aneta Kajzer and Ilse Henin. It was incredible to see the span of works being created and the manner in which the curators wove together various artists.

The Finissage of “a beautiful place nearby” was on Sunday, with drinks, snacks, and live music. The show harmoniously wove together ideas of sustainability, conservation, and the beauty of the natural environment through the work of artists Marie Althöfer, Daniela Baumann, Ulrike Möschel, and Beatrice Richter (one of our program liasons!). We were fortunate enough to talk with the curator Nicole Oversohl-Heusinger, who told us more about both the ideals of the show and the artists behind it. It was a wonderful time celebrating Beatrice’s closing and enjoying the improvisational music in the back garden!

The 2nd Year Painting Grads have just returned to Düsseldorf! We are settling back into our studios, and excited to start working soon following a visit to Boesner for supplies tomorrow. 

This weekend, we will visit the Düsseldorf Cologne Open Galleries as spaces open for the new exhibition season and see a range of the contemporary work being created in this area. We are also looking forward to attending the closing for the group show “a beautiful place nearby” that Beatrice Richter, one of our program liasons, participated in at Fünfzehnwochen!

We are excited to welcome Erika b Hess as a Visiting Artist this semester!

Thursday, October 29th

9-10am Holmes Auditorium

Erika b Hess is a painter, the Sydelle Sonkin and Herb Siegel Artistic Director of Chautauqua Visual Arts, and the creator and host of the art podcast I Like Your Work. Her work has been exhibited nationally at Morgan Lehman Gallery, New York; Middle Room Gallery, Los Angeles; and Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia. Her work is held in public and corporate collections including JetBlue at Logan International Airport, Fidelity Investments, and MetroHealth. Hess maintains a studio practice in Columbus, Ohio, with a select inventory of work in Long Island City, New York. She is represented by Contemporary Art Matters. Hess received her BFA from Wright State University and her MFA from Boston University.

IMAGE: 

Crossing

Oil on canvas

20″ x 16″

2026

https://www.alleganycountyareafoundation.org/native-blooms-brighten-alfred-in-new-mural

Congrats to Chloe Smith who received a grant to complete a mural project in Alfred in Main Street!

photograph by Alyssa Bump, ACAF Communications Fellow

On April 20th, the first year cohort in Dusseldorf had our final group crits of the semester with professor Jutta Haeckel (and Oscar the dog). The semester is wrapping up with final presentations coming up, and flights home next week. We’re looking forward to returning to the studio in September!

This week, the first years visited the nearby city of Cologne (Köln) to see the famous Cologne Cathedral and visit the Museum Ludwig. A highlight of the visit was the museum’s sprawling exhibition of Yayoi Kusama‘s entire oeuvre, from her early paintings and drawings all the way up to her recent installation work. We visited the Rhine boardwalk as well as a few galleries including Galerie Boisseree, with new work by german painter Imi Knoebel.

Last week we had a studio visit from the director and curator of the Neue Galerie Gladbeck, Sabine Schmidt. We met Sabine earlier in the week at the Gladbeck gallery’s opening of the exhibition: How many do you see? by German abstract painter Aneta Kajzer.

Sabine generously visited with each of the first year grads individually and gave feedback on our work. We also chatted as a group with Sabine sharing insights into her experiences and practices as a gallery curator and art critic, and how it may be relevant to us as emerging artists. Thank you Sabine!

This week, Jutta & the first year grads visited the Bonn Kunstmuseum, a short train ride from Dusseldorf. We met two museum curators and got a private tour of MƎTAATEM, an exhibition by painter & multi-disciplinary artist Kerstin Bratsch. We also got to stay after the visit for the opening of a the new exhibition showing work by french artists Tohé Commaret, Sarah-Anaïs Desbenoit and Pol Taburet.

The first year grads have been visiting many galleries and museums surrounding Düsseldorf, including the Kunstverein Leverkusen Schloss Morsbroich, Insel Hombroich, Langen Foundation Neuss, and Die Neue Galerie Gladbeck. We got to meet the curator of the Kunstverein, and had a studio visit with the director and curator of Neue Galerie Gladbeck. We’re looking forward to visiting Bonn & Cologne in the coming week!

The 1st Year Grads traveled to Brussels from Feb 26-27, 2026 to visit museums and galleries. We visited the Old Masters & Magritte Museums as well as Bozar, Neno Mier Gallery, and Sept Gallery. Brussels is a lively and walkable city with iconic architecture ranging from Gothic & Baroque to Art Nouveau and Bauhaus, with incredible murals and street art. We enjoyed belgian waffles and visiting the famous Manneken Pis fountain!