28th Chursächsischer Sommer 2025 - The cultural festival in the European spa region.
The radiant "summer residence" of the successful cultural festival is the cultural and festival town of Bad Elster, which is truly "royal" with renowned artists and ensembles as well as a suitable supporting program of concerts in the historic spa gardens, wellness offers and culinary delights. An important part of the Chursächsischer Sommer is also the numerous friendly partners & festival venues, which shape the festival period with cultural tourism programs. The Chursächsische Philharmonie - as the festival orchestra in residence - performs every year on its "summer tour" as a "musical ambassador" in numerous places worth experiencing, such as castles, churches and concert halls.
As part of the 28th Chursächsischer Sommer, the new exhibition "Begegnungen & Berührungen" with graphics and paintings by Rainer Marofke and wooden sculptures by Thomas Schulze will open in the KunstWandelhalle Bad Elster on July 6, 2025. The changing exhibition program of the culture and festival city is an integral part of the cultural tourism guest offers in the royal grounds of the Saxon state spa.
The exhibition brings together two Thuringian artistic personalities: On the one hand, Rainer Marofke from Zeulenroda presents a cross-section of his artistic work consisting of drawings, etchings, watercolors and oil paintings. Drawing is Rainer Marofke's passion and thus a defining feature of his work. In Bad Elster, he is showing landscapes, partly in large-format drawings and etchings. In addition, small formats with still lifes and landscapes. Natural relics and found objects are depicted symbolically and metaphorically as vanitas still lifes between growth and decay. These vividly demonstrate his craftsmanship as a draughtsman and etcher and his artistic affinity with the "old masters".
The exhibition is rounded off with expressive wooden sculptures by the Wünschendorf sculptor Thomas Schulze, who died in 2024. The artist friends often exhibited together. Thomas Schulze's sculptures form an exciting symbiosis with Rainer Marofke's paintings in the KunstWandelhalle. The imposing sculptures bear witness to the profound intensity with which the artist approaches classical themes such as life and death, love and faith, relationships and loss. The artist's palpable sensitivity stands in exciting contrast to the strongly reduced organic-abstract forms of his figures. The warmth, liveliness and individuality of wood as a material, often complemented by colored frames and gold leaf, make the sculptures fascinating to the viewer. The works of both artists, the sculptor and the graphic artist and painter, which differ in form, are united by an often contemplative calm. The intense contemplation and spiritual contemplation of nature, of man and thus ultimately of life. Two worlds of art in Bad Elster!
This impressive and interesting exhibition can be viewed until August 31, 2025 from Wednesday to Sunday from 2.00 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. and on weekends from 9.30 a.m. to 12.00 p.m. as well as during events in the KunstWandelhalle Bad Elster in the middle of the Royal Gardens. Admission is free.
