Julia Steiner

The Swiss artist Julia Steiner (*1982 in Büren zum Hof, Switzerland, lives and works in Basel) combines expansive drawings, which are created site-specifically, with installations and sculptural works. Using black gouache, blunt brushes and without any preliminary drawings, she creates large-format works that deal with fundamental themes from nature. A central leitmotif is the examination of transience, whereby repetition and care emerge as constant, universal principles of order. Julia Steiner has received several awards, including the Manor Art Prize and the Swiss Art Award.

The exhibition is sponsored by Kreissparkasse Esslingen-Nürtingen.

Julia Steiner „fluttering lights“ 2024, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne-Zurich-Ardez. Exhibition view of Arcadia, Bally Foundation, Lugano, Switzerland, 2024-2025 © Andrea Rossetti

10 July - 4 October 2026

Opening: Thursday, 9 July, 7 pm

Olaf Holzapfel x Raul Walch

Olaf Holzapfel (*1967 in Dresden, lives and works in Berlin) and Raul Walch (*1980 in Frankfurt am Main, lives and works in Berlin) are developing a joint presentation on the upper floor of Villa Merkel and in Merkelpark. In object paintings and sculptural works, Olaf Holzapfel uses traditional half-timbered and wickerwork techniques. His works focus on ecological and social issues and refer to building forms that are rarely used but at the same time point to the future. Raul Walch works with moving textile installations, banners and participative projects that incorporate wind, space and community. His sculptures open up social and ecological perspectives.

Olaf Holzapfel, Linde Tilleul, 2024, Courtesy of the artist, Knust Kunz Gallery, München and Xippas Gallery, Genève © Studio Olaf Holzapfel

23 October - 22 November 2026

Opening: Thursday, 22 October, 7 pm

Meisterschüler:innen, Weißenhof-Programm der Bildenden Kunst

der Staatlichen Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart

For the tenth time, Villa Merkel, in cooperation with the der Staatlichen Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart is presenting the graduates of the postgraduate programme ‘Meisterschüler:in im Weißenhof-Programm der Bildenden Kunst’. Outstanding graduates develop and realise a project within three semesters.

Denise Blickhan, Elif Çelik, Stefanie Fleischhauer, Junho Jeong, Yeeun Kim, Charlotte Klinger, Johannes Ocker, Yasamin Saffarian, Angela Vanini, Hannah Zenger