With an exhibition by Peter Brüning, the Kunstverein Gegenverkehr – Zentrum für aktuelle Kunst e. V. opened festively, on October 3, 1968, in the Theaterstraße 50 in Aachen. According to its articles of association, the Kunstverein strove to “support the art world of the city of Aachen by presenting and discussing current trends in all areas of the arts.” In contrast to the separation of art fields that was common then, “Gegenverkehr” had a multidisciplinary approach that offered a platform for the visual arts, contemporary literature, music, theater, and film. Its founding members included Klaus Honnef, editor in chief of the arts section of the Aachener Nachrichten, the gallerist Will Kranenpohl, the artists Rune Mields and Benno Wert, and the writer Helmut Walbert. Rune Mields was an important initiator of ideas for the artistic direction of the Kunstverein. She also exhibited a series of her “Röhrenbilder” in the group show Bildnerische Raumsituationen (Visual Spatial Situations) at “Gegenverkehr” in 1970.
The Kunstverein had more than 500 members for a time and received visitors from Aachen, Düsseldorf, and Cologne as well as from Belgium and the Netherlands. By the time it closed in 1972, “Gegenverkehr” had presented a total of thirty exhibitions by internationally known artists such as Bernd and Hilla Becher, Daniel Buren, Michael Buthe, Jan Dibbets, Gilbert & George, Günther Uecker, and Gerhard Richter. The last named had his first solo exhibition outside the art market. Klaus Honnef, who had primary responsibility for the artistic program, also initiated exhibitions by such artists from the United States as Allan D’Arcangelo, Mel Ramos, Robert Stanley, and Lawrence Weiner. The Kunstverein was one of the first institutions in Europe to dedicate itself to the Conceptual art that was emerging in the 1960s. Its visionary exhibition and event program made “Gegenverkehr” famous well beyond national borders.
The joint activities of Mields and Honnef at “Gegenverkehr” also resulted in them collaborating on the group exhibition Umwelt-Akzente (1970) in Monschau, which they curated with the journalist Kaspar Vallot. This pioneering exhibition on art in public spaces included works by Keith Arnatt, Daniel Buren, Jan Dibbets, Renate Weh, and Lawrence Weiner, among others. Rune Mields herself presented her sign “Der unendliche Raum – dehnt sich aus” (The Infinite Space—Expands) for the first time in the urban space of Monschau. Irene and Peter Ludwig were among the regular visitors of “Gegenverkehr” and supported it by advertising their chocolate in the exhibition catalogs and regularly purchasing works of art. In addition to Rune Mields’s “Röhrenbild” Nr. 26 (1969), Blue Coat (1966) by Mel Ramos and Hockey on Plexiglass (1968) by Robert Stanley, which the Ludwigs acquired at “Gegenverkehr,” can be found at the Ludwig Forum. Furthermore, numerous exhibition catalogs, photographs, historical films, and other materials from the Ludwig Forum archive tell the story of “Gegenverkehr”, supplementing the solo exhibition of Rune Mields.
Credits: Kunstverein Gegenverkehr – Zentrum für aktuelle Kunst e.V., exhibition view Ludwig Forum Aachen, 2024, photo: Mareike Tocha.
