LIGHT TOUCHES in Palais Bellevue: Experience Light, Paper, and Language
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LIGHT TOUCHES: When Paper Begins to Shine in Palais Bellevue
Barbara Beisinghoff's exhibition LIGHT TOUCHES transforms Palais Bellevue in Kassel into a poetic resonance space of light, paper, and language. Delicate, handmade watermark papers engage in a silent dialogue with daylight at the historical windows. Only in backlight do filigree signs, words, and image spaces become visible.
An Aesthetic Experience between Visible and Invisible
The exhibition is barrier-free across three floors of Palais Bellevue. The historical building becomes part of the installation: windows, spatial axes, shadows, and materiality combine to create a finely composed exhibition atmosphere. The changing light alters the effect of the paper works, making each experience of the artwork a dynamic artistic encounter.
In the Sohar, the Book of Splendor, the first spark of light is simultaneously considered the first word. This connection between light and language forms a poetic starting point for the exhibition. For Barbara Beisinghoff, paper does not merely serve as a medium for images, but as an independent medium for perception, memory, and meaning.
Watermarks, Literature, and Spatial Effects
On the first floor, a visual axis connects the ocher watermark in the parlor with the white work Light of the Eye and of the Mind in the adjacent room. The restrained colors develop a powerful spatial effect in daylight, directing attention to the fine transitions between surface, transparency, and immateriality.
On the second floor, visitors encounter watermark words from Christa Wolf's Cassandra. In the astronomy room, further watermark images reference the historical use of Palais Bellevue, which Landgrave Karl established in 1714 for astronomical studies. A display case shows the artist's book Etchings Inhabit from Gaston Bachelard's The Poetics of Space as well as a white sheet with words from a poem by Marina Tsvetaeva, written with a water jet.
Barbara Beisinghoff and the Art of Paper
Barbara Beisinghoff works at the intersection of graphics, paper art, artist books, and site-specific installation. Her work includes color etchings, handmade papers, watermarks, and public art projects. Lines, fibers, inscribed texts, and light signs make the material itself a carrier of poetic and philosophical significance.
Under the vaulted arch of the library, three levels of watermarks slowly rotate over each other. Light wanders across the paper surfaces, shapes shift, and text appears and disappears. This concentrated installation makes the aesthetic experience physically palpable and opens a silent dialogue between visibility and invisibility.
Accompanying Program for the Exhibition
Discussions, readings, and a leporello workshop deepen the cultural education surrounding the exhibition. On October 25th, there will be a leporello workshop with Susanne Mihm-Lutz from 2 PM to 5 PM, participation requires prior registration. On November 15th, Marcus Angebauer and Heiko Schimmelpfeng will read prose and letters from Rosa Luxemburg to James Salter under the title The World in the Window. A conversation with Brigitte Zypries, former Federal Minister, will follow on November 29th.
Conclusion: A Quiet Artistic Experience with Great Radiance
LIGHT TOUCHES invites art enthusiasts to a sensual engagement with light, paper, literature, and historical architecture. The exhibition shows how fragile watermarks create a dynamic image space. Those wishing to experience the nuances between visible and invisible and to discover Palais Bellevue from a new perspective should not miss this exhibition in person.
Official Channels of Barbara Beisinghoff:
- Website: https://www.beisinghoff.de/
