07 Jun 2016

The Torso - The Unfinished as artistic form at Schloß Trebnitz

In August 2016, at the height of summer, sculptors and visual artists from Germany and Poland will have the opportunity to work sculpturally, exchange views on current artistic trends in contemporary sculpture, and network with other artists. The Pleinair meeting is exclusively aimed at artists living in Germany or Poland and who work with figurative sculpture. Master students of sculptor classes are also invited to apply. All incoming submissions will be judged by an expert jury, consisting of well-known German and Polish representatives of various art institutions. The jury will select six participants for the art meeting in mid-July. The successful participants will be invited to Trebnitz / Müncheberg (Oderland) and will receive a fee of 500 EUR each at the end of the Pleinair. The selected artists are invited to work on three-dimensional works of art which can be produced from different materials such as wood, ceramic, plaster, metal or others.

This year's work theme is dedicated to the form of presentation of the torso.The focus is especially on the human figure, but the originality and individual artistic conception of the project outline will play a major role. Works addressing this year's theme should be produced within the two-week period of the Pleinair and will be presented in an exhibition at the end of that period. A major theoretical focus of the two-week Pleinair is the famous German sculptor Gustav Seitz, whose artistic estate will be re-located to Trebnitz in 2017, specifically to new Gustav-Seitz-Centre that will be housed within the newly refurbished Old Wash House on the grounds of the Castle Trebnitz. An examination of the work of Gustav Seitz is an integral part of the meeting.The participating artists will not only get to know the famous sculptor's language of form through lectures and discussions, but will also explore what representational practices are used in today's sculpture by contemporary artists.This year's theme 'The Unfinished as artistic form' re-visits a subject first explored in a Symposium in 1956. With historical distance, the artists will examine how the figurative idiom of contemporary sculpture is addressing this theme today.

The individual contributions created during the Pleinair meeting will be displayed at a comprehensive project exhibition at Castle Trebnitz. A bilingual catalogue will accompany the exhibition. From the works created at the end of the meeting, one sculptural contribution will be selected by the Board of the Gustav Seitz Foundation for a prize worth 5,000 EUR. The Gustav-Seitz-Prize will be awarded for a work that demonstrates the contemporary continuation of the tradition of figurative sculpture. During the Pleinair, individual workshops with children and young people will take place. On selected days, the participating artists are invited to grant the young visitors a look into their production workshops. The youngsters are thus given the opportunity to learn about different techniques of sculpture and to ask questions about the creative process. The studio spaces of Castle Trebnitz will be available to all participants, providing ample opportunity to develop their sculptural drafts and to interact with the invited artists. The 18th-Century castle grounds, the castle village and surroundings are also waiting to be explored. All this will be provided to you for free, including free board and lodging. Materials will also be provided free of charge. If requested, the artworks produced during the Pleinair can be picked up by the artists after the exhibition at their own expense. The artwork awarded with this year's Gustav-Seitz-Prize will pass into the possession of the Castle Trebnitz e.V.

We would like to invite artists / sculptors to participate in this special meeting!
If you are interested, please send a project proposal and your CV with work-samples to the following e-mail address:

Mail: pleinair@schloss-trebnitz.de
Closing date 30/06/2016 (date of receipt)
The selected participants will be notified by mid-July via mail
Curator: Berenika Partum

Terms and Conditions

• Submission of a project description on the subject outlined above and a CV/Portfolio by 30 June 2016
• The project description should include a project sketch, a specification of the required material types and quantities, and an estimation of the approximate project costs (material costs of up to 500 EUR for each artist will be covered)
• Agreement to transfer ownership of the artwork awarded with the Gustav-Seitz-Prize 2016 to Castle Trebnitz e.V.