How long will the exhibition run?

The special exhibition runs from 12.06.2026 to 24.01.2027 at GRIMMWELT Kassel.

What is the admission fee?

The admission fee for the special exhibition is 5 Euro for adults, 3 Euro reduced, and 12 Euro for families.

Are there guided tours?

Yes, there are public tours as well as bookable group tours and tours for school classes.

Is the exhibition suitable for children?

Yes, the exhibition offers a riddle trail for children and interactive stations that also appeal to families.

Is GRIMMWELT accessible?

Yes, GRIMMWELT provides barrier-free access and points out accessible visiting options.

What are the opening hours?

GRIMMWELT is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM, closed on Mondays.

Helga Gebert Transforms Fairy Tale Images into a Clever, Sensual Exhibition

Name: Between Shapes | Helga Gebert
Start: 2026-07-29T12:00:00+02:00
End: 2027-01-24T19:00:00+01:00
Location: GRIMMWELT Kassel

Between Image and Fairy Tale Space: Helga Gebert at GRIMMWELT

With Between Shapes, GRIMMWELT Kassel dedicates the first comprehensive solo exhibition to Helga Gebert. The exhibition opens an artistic and narrative space, where illustration, authorship, and translation merge into a multifaceted art experience. Over 200 works, biographical traces, and interactive stations make visible how Gebert not only illustrates stories but redefines them.

Illustration as a Living Form of Retelling

Helga Gebert was regarded in the 1970s and 1980s as a formative figure in the renewal of German children’s and youth literature. Her work for Beltz & Gelberg represents a generation of picture books that thought language, attitude, and imagery more closely together. In Kassel, visitors encounter illustrations of Grimm's fairy tales, 1001 Nights, and early children’s books marked by a sense of awakening. Delicately placed lines, watercolor surfaces, and detailed compositions create a unique exhibition atmosphere between poetry and precision.

Biography, Attitude, and Artistic Breadth

Gebert, born in 1935 in Freiburg im Breisgau, worked as an illustrator, painter, author, and translator. Her images combine narrative clarity with aesthetic openness. The exhibition showcases this versatility as part of an artistic practice that brings together literature, cultural education, and social engagement. Wall and stage designs, early book projects, and her work as a design therapist expand the perspective on a body of work that goes far beyond classic book illustration.

Playful Mediation for Children and Adults

GRIMMWELT presents the special exhibition interactively and with careful museum education. A riddle trail for children, participatory stations, filmic and auditory elements, as well as works from a 6th-grade class at Wilhelmsgymnasium Kassel invite visitors to engage with the works. This interplay of observation, questioning, and action makes the exhibition a place of aesthetic experience, where cultural education can be directly experienced.

Comparative Perspectives and Curatorial Depth

Individual works by Maurice Sendak, Helga Ruppert-Tribian, and Markus Lefrançois place Gebert's works in a larger art historical and narrative context. The curation by Hanna Krüger connects scientific expertise with sensory mediation. This creates a tour that not only makes a picture book oeuvre visible but also raises the question of how stories live on, transform, and gain new meaning across generations.

Conclusion

Between Shapes is an exhibition for anyone looking to discover illustration as an independent art form. Those who immerse themselves in Helga Gebert's images experience fairy tales, language, and social imagination in a rare density. A visit to GRIMMWELT Kassel is worthwhile for families, art enthusiasts, and anyone wishing to experience narrative art anew in a museum setting.