LIGHT TOUCHES at Palais Bellevue: Light Art and Paper Poetry in Kassel
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LIGHT TOUCHES: When paper begins to glow in Palais Bellevue
Barbara Beisinghoff's exhibition LIGHT TOUCHES transforms the historic Palais Bellevue in Kassel into a poetic resonance space of light, paper, language, and architecture. Delicate, handmade watermark papers enter into a silent dialogue with daylight at the windows, connecting the interior and the outside world into a finely nuanced aesthetic experience.
Watermarks between the Visible and Invisible
The filigree paper works unfold their effect particularly in backlight. Light penetrates through the thin fibers, draws transparent structures, and reveals embedded words, signs, and image spaces. An exhibition atmosphere emerges in the historic Palais Bellevue where painting, installation, paper art, and literature subtly intertwine.
The starting point of the exhibition is the numerous windows of Palais Bellevue, which Landgrave Karl commissioned to be built in 1714 for astronomical studies. The works respond to the architecture and make the transition between inside and outside visible. In the Sohar, the Book of Splendor, the first spark of light represents the first word. This relationship between light, language, and knowledge shapes the experience of the works in all spaces.
An Exhibition as a Poetic Walk
The exhibit is barrier-free and leads through three floors. On the ground floor, two works in front of the semi-circular supraporte windows invite engagement with the concept of Reschit. On the first floor, a visual axis connects an ocher-colored watermark in the parlor with the white work Light of the eye and of the mind in the opposite room.
On the second floor, visitors encounter more watermark words from Christa Wolf's Kassandra. In the Astronomy room, works with texts by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg enter into a dialogue with the historical character of the Palais. A showcase displays the book ETCHINGS RESIDENT from Gaston Bachelard's The Poetics of Space as well as a white sheet with words from a poem by Marina Tsvetaeva, which were written with a water jet.
Light, Movement, and Spatial Impact
Under the vaulted arch of the library, three layers of watermarks rotate slowly over one another. This installation makes light perceivable as a moving, physically experienced phenomenon. Forms dissolve, shadows emerge, and the architecture becomes an active component of the art.
Barbara Beisinghoff works with handmade paper, watermarks, water-jet drawings, and artist books. Her art connects material precision with poetic language and a concentrated engagement with space, perception, and memory. The exhibition is thus in the tradition of experimental paper art and cross-media installation art.
Cultural Education and Accompanying Program
A printed guide flyer in the hall on the ground floor supports independent exploration. Talks, readings, and a leporello workshop deepen cultural education and open different access points to the exhibition.
On October 25, 2026, a leporello workshop with Susanne Mihm-Lutz will take place from 2 PM to 5 PM. Participation is possible upon registration. Other events include conversations with Susanne Jakubzcyk and Brigitte Zypries, as well as the reading The World in the Window featuring prose and letters from Rosa Luxemburg to James Salter.
Conclusion: A Quiet Art Experience with Great Radiance
LIGHT TOUCHES invites a slowed-down contemplation of works, where light not only illuminates but creates meaning. Visitors experience paper as a permeable body, language as a visual trace, and the Palais Bellevue as a poetic installation. Those who engage with the delicate nuances between the visible and invisible gain an intense aesthetic experience. A visit to this extraordinary exhibition in Kassel enriches culturally and sensually.
Official Channels of Barbara Beisinghoff:
- Website: https://www.beisinghoff.de/
