Neue Galerie im Höhmannhaus
Located directly next to the Schaezlerpalais, in a historic building on Maximilianstraße, the Neue Galerie im Höhmannhaus is the international forum for contemporary art in Augsburg, alongside the H2 - Zentrum für Gegenwartskunst and Halle 1 - Raum für Kunst im Glaspalast. Since its opening in 1996, it has offered artists an experimental platform to present current time or situation related projects.
In addition to internationally well-known positions, the presentations also focus on projects with local artists, providing a constant insight into the artistic development of the respective exhibiting artist, as well as the current state of the Augsburg art scene.
HISTORY
The four-storey patrician house, the core of which dates back to the 16th or 17th century, is located directly next to the Schaezlerpalais on the former Weinmarkt, the centre of which is the Hercules Fountain by Adriaen de Vries. The present building was created at the beginning of the 17th century from two houses with courtyard-side wings and a fountain wall (around 1620), which is associated with the Augsburg city architect Elias Holl. In 1764, the present interior staircase was decorated with a fresco by the last Augsburg academy director Joseph Anton Huber (1737-1815). It shows in illusionistic architecture the fall of Phaeton and the mourning of the Heliads.
Dr Ruth Höhmann (1915-2004), whose parents had acquired the house in 1934, bequeathed the building in her will to the Kunstsammlungen und Museen Ausgburg, which, with her support, established the Neue Galerie here as early as 1996. The opening of the Graphic Cabinet followed in 2011, where the holdings of the Graphic Collection have since been presented in changing exhibitions.
