When is the exhibition Between Forms on display?

The exhibition is on display from June 12, 2026, to January 24, 2027, at GRIMMWELT Kassel.

Where is the exhibition taking place?

The exhibition takes place at GRIMMWELT Kassel, Weinbergstraße 21, 34117 Kassel.

Who is the exhibition aimed at?

The exhibition is aimed at adults, families, and children. Interactive elements and a riddle trail provide age-appropriate access to Helga Gebert's work.

Is there a supporting program?

The exhibition includes interactive elements, a riddle trail for children, and public tours of the special exhibition.

What topics does the exhibition cover?

The focus is on the interplay of illustration and narrative, fairy tale images, cultural transmission, biographical insights, and new forms of retelling, counter-telling, and reimagining.

Is there an exhibition catalog?

Yes, an exhibition catalog deepens the engagement with Helga Gebert's biography, work, commitment, and methods.

Helga Gebert's Fairy Tale Worlds: When Images Retell Stories

Name: Between Forms | Helga Gebert
Start: 2026-09-26T10:00:00+02:00
End: 2027-01-24T23:59:00+01:00
Location: GRIMMWELT Kassel

Between Forms: Helga Gebert's Enchanting Visual Worlds at GRIMMWELT Kassel

The exhibition Between Forms is dedicated to the fascinating interplay of image and word in the works of illustrator and author Helga Gebert. From June 12, 2026, to January 24, 2027, GRIMMWELT Kassel will make visible how illustrations not only accompany stories but also retell, challenge, and reinterpret them.

Storytelling Between Image and Word

Helga Gebert, born in 1935 in Freiburg im Breisgau, is regarded as one of the key figures in the renewal of German children's and youth literature in the 1970s. Her artistic work combines poetic imagery, subtle humor, and an extraordinary sensitivity to characters, postures, and narrative spaces.

The exhibition explores Gebert's engagement with the Grimms' fairy tales, stories from 1001 Nights, and her own fantastic tales. Familiar themes appear in new visual spaces: fairy tale motifs are shifted, questioned, and connected with contemporary perspectives on cultural influences, hierarchies, and appropriation.

Illustration as Living Cultural Communication

The central question of the curation is how images change the view of stories. An illustration translates language into form, color, rhythm, and atmosphere. It gives characters a face, creates emotional proximity, and simultaneously opens up interpretative spaces. In Gebert's works, this process is particularly vivid: fairy tale images preserve the traditional and simultaneously transform it.

The examination of the works opens an aesthetic experience between painting, drawing, book art, and visual narration. Lines, figures, and fairy tale image motifs unfold their own dramaturgy. Thus, the atmosphere of the exhibition becomes a space where visitors encounter familiar stories with sharpened perception.

Biography, Working Methods, and Interactive Approaches

Biographical insights and information about Gebert's sources of inspiration deepen the understanding of her artistic development. The presentation shows how personal experiences, literary templates, and societal issues flow into a distinctive visual language.

Interactive elements invite visitors to explore the mechanisms of storytelling themselves. A riddle trail for children makes the exhibition a cross-generational artistic experience. Adults discover art historical connections and narrative strategies, while younger visitors are playfully guided through Gebert's character worlds.

A Significant Position in Children's and Youth Book Art

Gebert was one of the important house authors and illustrators at Beltz & Gelberg Publishing. Her fairy tale books, children's literature, and children's riddles combine narrative clarity with visual openness. The exhibition not only honors a versatile artist but also the cultural significance of illustrative art for reading biographies, imagination, and aesthetic education.

A companion exhibition catalog comprehensively opens up her work for the first time. Scholarly contributions and personal insights from companions shed light on the biography, commitment, and methods of the artist.

Conclusion: Learning to See Fairy Tales Anew

Between Forms offers an inspiring encounter with Helga Gebert's poetic image stories and shows how lively fairy tales remain in the interplay of illustration, language, and memory. The exhibition combines art historical expertise, cultural education, and sensory engagement with the works for an experience for adults, families, and children. Those who want to understand how images change stories should definitely discover this special artistic experience live at GRIMMWELT Kassel.