Do not miss the temporary exhibition at the mre: Helen Frankenthaler. Move and Make. For the first time since over twenty years, the internationally acclaimed artist’s captivating worlds of colour can be seen in a major solo show in Germany. All works are part of the Reinhard Ernst Collection.
The exhibition at the Reinhard Ernst Museum honours the pioneering spirit of Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011) in a tour through four decades of her tireless commitment and thus makes her dedication to the medium of painting visible.
In the early 1970s, Frankenthaler explained her desire for renewal and her creative self-image in the quote that gives the show its title in condensed form: ‘I’d rather think and move and make than halt‘.
The then 23-year-old established herself in the New York art scene of the 1950s with her invention of the soak-stain technique, in which she allowed diluted paint to seep into untreated canvases. She was one of the first artists of the time to roll out the canvas on the floor and spread the paint over the surface with sponges and brushes – a revolutionary move. She created compositions that explored the relationship between colour, form and space in a new way.
Frankenthaler’s work, her making, is a significant contribution to a decidedly modern understanding of the artist, in which authorship and control were unchallenged in the foreground until the first decades of the 20th century. She took a different path to her male contemporaries, who let the brushstrokes and drops of colour fly in an action-packed manner. With her very own soak-stain, she opened up new spaces for painting.
Today, Helen Frankenthaler is celebrated as a pioneering mediator between action painting and colour field painting. She gave American post-war art a decisive turn.
Her paintings are characterised by a willingness to take risks: By setting herself no limits in her artistic endeavours, Frankenthaler created large-format, free paintings full of radiance. An oeuvre that is still highly relevant today.
Tickets can be purchased online or at our ticket desk.
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Helen Frankenthaler
Publishers: Reinhard & Sonja Ernst-Stiftung
Essays by D. Dreishpoon, R. Ernst, L. Kikol, O. Kornhoff, L. Schäfer
German-English edition
160 pages, 75 colour illustrations
25 × 30,7 cm, hardcover
978-3-7774-4538-0
Available in our museum shop at Wilhelmstr. 1.
ARTE film premiere
Painting Without Rules – American Women Artists of the Postwar Era Documentary by Maria Anna Tappeiner ARTE/ZDF 2025, 52 min.
Wednesday, 2 April 2025; 6.30 pm
Admission free
Please register in advance
Kurze Nacht der Galerien und Museen in Wiesbaden (Short night of galleries and museums in Wiesbaden)
Saturday, 5 April 2025; 19–24 h
free admission
Guided Tour with the exhibition’s curator Lea Schäfer
26.3., 21.5. and 10.9.2025; 6 pm
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: 15 € per person
plus entrance fee
Internationale Maifestspiele (International May Festival)
Dance is coming to the Museum Reinhard Ernst with star choreographer William Forsythe.
2–4 May 2025, 7 pm
Tickets: stth-wi-shop.comfortticket.de
To accompany the special exhibition ‘Helen Frankenthaler. Move and Make’ at the Museum Reinhard Ernst Wiesbaden, Lara Stamm from Studio Stiller is offering an exclusive workshop that invites you to experience the American artist’s innovative soak-stain technique firsthand.
In this workshop you will create your own textile artwork under professional guidance and delve into the captivating world of color. Whether you are already familiar with Frankenthaler’s work or are simply looking to explore your creative side, this workshop provides the perfect opportunity to do so.
