Mangold @ Hallen für Neue Kunst

Hallen für Neue Kunst in Schaffhausen Switzerland has been the highlight of my annual European trip this past summer.  I have been thinking of going there for a few years but have not been able to fit it into my previous itineraries until this year.  My anticipation was met with total satisfaction.  Owning and showing large-scale works by Carl Andre, Joseph Beuys, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Jannis Kounellis, Sol LeWitt, Richard Long, Robert Mangold, Mario Merz, Bruce Nauman, Robert Ryman and Lawrence Weiner, the Hallen's collection of minimalist/conceptual contemporary art is among the most prominent in the world.

Robert Mangold's paintings are what I found the most impressive at the Hallen.  His use of simple forms with mathematical clarity, though quiet and restrained on the surface, is articulate and powerful.  I rank Mangold as high as Max Bill among all favourite artists of mine.

The walking man

Richard Long's land art is created by walking.  When he's not walking, he works with the indigenous materials he's collected while walking around the world.  His works are ubiquitous in Europe this summer.

Long at Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin 2011:

Long at Haunch of Venison, London 2011:

Also at Hallen für Neue Kunst, Schaffhausen, where no photography was allowed.

Trans-Europe Express

I was in Switzerland's Schaffhausen this past weekend - no wi-fi was available anywhere. Hallen für Neue Kunst was what brought me there. Being the mecca for lovers of contemporary art (minimal art), the Hallen was expected to be THE highlight of my entire trip, and I was not disappointed. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed.  Too bad I cannot share the great works of my favourite artists here.

Leaving Schaffhausen this morning, I continued my journey on a Trans-Europe-Express ...

Kraftwerk 1977:

Video from curtainpole's youtube channel