Venue:Museum für Druckkunst Leipzig
Nonnenstraße 38
04229 Leipzig
In the exhibition “Reflected – Perspectives on Contemporary Etching” (20 June 2026 – 30 August 2026), students and lecturers from the Braunschweig University of Fine Arts, the Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin and the Academy of Graphic Arts and Book Design Leipzig will present around 50 contemporary works in the field of intaglio printing.
As part of the exhibition, talks will be held on three Sundays. On each occasion, you’ll have the chance to meet three of the artists behind the works. What drives them, and how do they go about their work? Do they harbour any studio secrets, and how time-consuming is the process of creating etchings? There will also be an opportunity to strike up a conversation with the artists yourself.
- 19 July: Friedrich Drescher, Lilith Queisser and Johanna Sander
- 16 August: Leon Friederichs, Lukas Gerbaulet and Maria Ondrej
- 30 August: Eileen Helm, Miriam Jehle and Robert Schmiedel
Participation is free of charge; you only pay the standard museum admission fee.
Booking required: info@druckkunst-museum.de or +49 341/2 31 62-0
With the emergence of woodcut printing in the early 15th century, copperplate engraving in the middle of the century and, finally, etching shortly before 1500, printmaking developed into an art form in its own right. With figures such as Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1400–1468), inventor of letterpress printing with movable type, and the exceptional woodcut and etching artist Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528), Germany can look back on a centuries-old tradition of printmaking.
Today, it is the art colleges in particular that are passing on this heritage whilst also providing new impetus. In their workshops, students receive comprehensive training in both classical and experimental intaglio techniques – from drypoint, line etching, aquatint, vernis mou, reservage, mezzotint and schabaquatint, as well as techniques such as screen printing on printing plates or photography-based processes such as cliché verre or photogravure, right through to interfaces with the digital world. The training programmes at the universities in the three participating federal states are fundamentally the same, yet there are subtle, discernible differences.
The workshop leaders – Maria Ondrej from the Braunschweig University of Fine Arts, Pedro Boese from the Weißensee Academy of Art in Berlin, and Robert Schmiedel from the Academy of Graphic Arts and Book Design in Leipzig – joined forces with Katharina Walter from Leipzig Museum of Printmaking, came up with the idea of launching a cross-university exhibition project. The aim is to highlight the diversity and quality of training in the field of etching whilst simultaneously shining a spotlight on emerging artists. Eight to ten students from each university are invited to take part.
At the same time, the project is a first step towards sustainably strengthening common ground and collaboration between the institutions, highlighting differences whilst also providing new impetus. The collaboration is an important contribution to keeping intaglio printing alive as part of the intangible cultural heritage.
The results, centred on the theme ‘Reflected – Perspectives on Contemporary Etching’, will be made accessible to the public at various venues across Germany. The exhibition will open at the Museum für Druckkunst in Leipzig.
Further planned exhibition venues are:
- HBK University Gallery (27 October – 13 November 2026)
Johannes Selenka Platz 1, 38118 Braunschweig
- Galerie Alte Feuerwache (25 November 2026 – 17 January 2027)
Marchlewskistraße 6, 10243 Berlin
- Städtische Galerie Wolfsburg (4 December – 31 December 2026)
Schloßstraße 8, 38448 Wolfsburg
