Pleinair 1994-2024

Challenge: Pleinair

Franka Keil

Artistic and human openness were defining characteristics of the atmosphere at the Niemeyer-Holstein residence. It is in line with the character and work of the painter that he specified in his will that Lüttenort should remain a place of art and culture.

In keeping with this legacy, the Otto Niemeyer-Holstein Friendship Circle, Lüttenort e.V., with the support of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, has been organizing artist gatherings for many years. In total, 87 artists from Argentina, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Lithuania, Poland, Switzerland, Great Britain, Chile, Iran, the USA, Ukraine, Estonia, India, and Germany have already accepted this invitation and embraced the challenge of Plein Air painting. The sea, the steep cliffs in Koserow, the Damerower meadows and forest, the fishing harbors on the Baltic Sea, the nearby towns, and the pebbled shores of the Achterwasser all offer an ever-changing array of impressions through the interplay of clouds, wind, and varying light conditions.

 

 

 

The artists applying should, like Otto Niemeyer-Holstein, be "admirers of the visible world" (Joachim John) and capable of working figuratively in order to engage with the locale: the island of Usedom and the artist’s estate, “Lüttenort.” Niemeyer-Holstein found his own language through his deep engagement with nature. He was interested in distilling moments, in capturing the atmosphere.
Sketching and painting outdoors, directly in front of the subject, creates an intimate, immediate connection with the landscape, which is difficult to achieve in a studio. The magic of the moment, the unique impression of an atmospheric phenomenon, is preserved.
 

“In painting, light cannot be depicted, I am convinced of this. Here too, the ‘as if’ plays a decisive role. There are various opinions on this, but I believe Cezanne was right in that color must interpret light. Arthur Segal pointed out to me that the French Impressionists often equated light with color, which led to many misunderstandings.
As a painter, one must see the air; whether one wants to paint it is another question. But it is the air that brings spatial conditions into natural relationships, it organizes and structures them. To paint the air was not only the problem of the Impressionists; to limit it to this also means failing to properly understand the Impressionists. Every painter will have to confront the problem of air, especially when they venture into the landscape.”
— Otto Niemeyer-Holstein in Lüttenort, Berlin 2019, pp. 276ff

 

 

I. INTERNATIONAL PLEINAIR 1994
Organizer: Thorsten Zwinger
Enrique Battista (ARG) – Folker Fuchs (D) – Walter Goes (D) – Oskar Manigk (D) – Wiesława Markiewicz (PL) – Annika Svenbro (S) – Matthias Wegehaupt (D) – Thorsten Zwinger (D)

II. 1996 UFER – ANFANG UND ENDE DER WELT
Organizer: Usedomer Kunstverein in collaboration with the Otto Niemeyer-Holstein Friendship Circle
Iris Band (D) – Sabine Curio (D) – Holger John (D) – Ute Lohse (D) – Oskar Manigk (D) – Helge Revold (N) – Jan Rociagas (PL) – Gabriele Schulz (D) – Matthias Wegehaupt (D)

III. 1998 MEER-SEHEN
Sonja Eschefeld (D) – Heino Hellwig (D) – Sally Heywood (GB) – Franziska Kunath (D) – Steffen Mühle (D) – Arvydas Pakalka (LT) – Ursula Strozynski (D) – Eberhard Trodler (D)

IV. 2000 ZEIT-ZEUGEN – Spuren der Veränderung
Silke Höppner (D) – Uta Jeran (D) – Jerzy Jurga (PL) – Holger John (D) - Bodo Neumüller (D) – Matthias
Schroller (D) - Peter Schulz Leonhardt (D) – Lena Strömberg (S) – Rebekka Tiefert (D)

V. 2002 OTTO NIEMEYER-HOLSTEIN SCHOLARSHIP
Marie Alice Bahra (D) – Eva Bernitzki (D) – Rainer Fest (D) – Bettina John (D) – Anke Kutzschbauch (D) – Antonia
Tellz-Niemeyer (CHL) – Wulff Sailer (D) –Vitautas Tamoliunas (LTU)

VI. 2004 OTTO NIEMEYER - HOLSTEIN SCHOLARSHIP
Dietrich Becker (D) – Elma Kozlowa (D/RUS) – Babak Nayebi (D-IRAN) – Anneliese Schöfbeck (D) – Heike Wadewitz (D)

VII. 2006 MALERFREUNDSCHAFTEN (Painter Friendships)
Marju Bormeister (PL) – Jolanta Brejdak (D) – Jochen Fiedler (D) – Sebastian Henning (D) – Peter Heyn (D) – Annelise Hoge (D) – Hanif Lehmann (D) – Susan Wittwer (D)

 

 

VIII. 2008 MALERFREUNDSCHAFTEN (Painter Friendships)
Ulla Andersson (D) – Malgorzata Andrzejewska (PL) – Rita Geißler (D) – Wilko Hänsch (D) – Karen Koschnick (D) – Ilka Neumann (D) – Grit Sauerborn (D) – Markus Tepe (D)

IX. 2011 REITER AUF DEN GROSSEN BÄREN (Riders on the Great Bear)
Jörn Dietrichs (D) – Fiona McGuigan (USA) – Angelika John (D) – Ann Nelson (CH) - Susanne Rehage (D) –
Bernhard Schrock (D) – Myrtha Steiner (CH) – Rahel Wepfer (CH)

X. 2014 International Plein Air at the Atelier Otto Niemeyer-Holstein
Stefan auf der Maur (CH) - Anett Frontzek (D) - Julia Gutkina (RUS) - Bettina Hünicke (D) - Anastasya Nesterova (UKR) - Dirk Richter (D) - Ava Smitmans (D) - Regula Wepfer (CH)

XI. 2017 International Plein Air at the Atelier Otto Niemeyer-Holstein
Detlef Birkholz (D) - Josefine Cyranka (D - Franziska Hesse (D) - Line Jastram (D) - Maren Reblin (D) - Siraj Saxena (IND) - Cornelia Schuster-Kaiser (D) - Gintare Skroblyte (LTU)

XII. 2021 International Plein Air at theAtelier Otto Niemeyer-Holstein
Ondine Frochaux (CH), Maria Mednikova (RUS), Yvette Kießling (D), Thomas Matauschek (D), Barbara Krajci (D), Sylvie Viain (D), Heike Burghardt (D), Peter Genßler (D)

XIII. 2024 International Plein Air at the Otto Niemeyer-Holstein Studio
Katja Enders-Plate (D) - Ira Gvozdyk (UA) - Felix Jess (D) - Anke Kiermeier (D) - Conny Luley (D) - Susanne Theumer (D)

 

 

 

Every artist is unique, and yet each Plein Air event develops its own dynamic, fostering lively exchanges among the participants. The Otto Niemeyer-Holstein Friendship Circle, Lüttenort e.V., offers numerous opportunities to ease the working routine of the artists. On the arrival evening, a welcome dinner is hosted. Later in the event, another evening with a traditional fish dinner is held. An island tour is organized, visiting the studios of island artists, the art pavilion in Heringsdorf, and the village of Benz with its Dutch windmill, church, and cemetery.

The closing celebration is marked with an Atelierfest (studio party) and a “Werkschau” (exhibition of works). To give the public a glimpse of the works created during the Plein Air event, part of the special museum exhibition is taken down to allow each participant to present a small selection of their works. A joint walk-through is held to allow the artists to discuss which pieces should be exhibited.

Sustainable relationships have developed between the Plein Air participants, the Otto Niemeyer-Holstein Friendship Circle, Lüttenort e.V., and the Museum Atelier ONH. Regular exchanges of invitations and newsletters from the Plein Air participants keep everyone informed about their continued work. It has been reported that the works created in Usedom were further developed and exhibited or sold, with the location of creation always adding a special value. The residency in Lüttenort is included in the artists' CVs and remains a lasting memory. From the organizer’s perspective, the Plein Air participants are ambassadors who carry the message of this artist’s location, shaped by Otto Niemeyer-Holstein, into their own circles of influence with the works created in Usedom.