Hilde in Köln/Hilde in Cologne

 

I had come across Karl Hubbuch’s double portraits* of his wife Hilde some years ago. But more recently I’ve become more aware of Karl’s photographic work, and also that of Hilde herself. Hilde was a student of Karl’s at Karlsruhe and then went to the Bauhaus at Dessau where her photographic work shows the influence of Moholy Nagy. They divorced in 1932, which enabled Hilde (being Jewish) to flee the immanent Nazi regime to her home in Austria and thence to London and New York. She became a society portrait photographer and had work published in the New Yorker among other places.

Anyways. The couple visited Cologne in 1928 and Karl took a wonderful photograph of Hilde climbing a staircase wearing a magnificent overcoat. The photo really reminded me of my wife in the 1980s. The funky hairstyle, the round glasses and she sure would have worn a coat like that. 

So I’ve transported Hilde to the outdoors, down by the river with the twin towers of Köln Cathedral across the water.

* Hilde Twice I and Hilde Twice II were originally a single painting, Hilde 4 Times, But KH cut it in half after it got damaged in storage during the Nazi interegnum.

Contrasts exhibition - visitor comments

 

 We took the exhibition down yesterday and I've transcribed the comments from the visitor book below.

One thing we did was to use the glass cabinet that's a fixture of the room to display stuff in. We both put in some greeting cards, and I also put in sketchbooks, tools and lino blocks to show how things were made. From the comments you can see that this was well received. I saw that when I was there in person, too. Kids are especially interested in how things are made. 

We both also tried to say something about each work on the labels. Not just title, medium, price. And that seems to have been appreciated, too. Worth going to that effort.

The picture above was drawn in the visitor book (it's the pictures on the poster). I love it. First fan art. I love how we look like we're sat in a car or something. An old Cortina with STEVE and MAGDA on the windscreen.

Anyway. Here's the comments:

• Very interesting exhibition and lovely work. Interesting to explain to my 8 year old the different processes.

• Really enjoyed this…. (illegible)....Interesting work

• Thank you for the lovely exhibition and for taking the time to explain your techniques

• Fab Exhibition! Well done both of you. I love the contrasting styles/medium etc – which work so well together. Bold black and white prints v lucid watery colour studies. Brilliant artists – stunning arresting work! :)

• A lovely visit, sorry for the noise and mess (we’re his carers and he’s just having a turn)

• Great exhibition. I love the cabinet filled with sketchbooks and the linoprint – a lovely sight! Great fluidity to Magdalena’s :)

• Magical watercolours – a delight to see from a beautiful soul.

• Impressive water colours! Thought provoking prints!

• Liked all the paintings, especially the anemone with its different colours

• Great exhibition, love the styles. Well done for getting it together so quickly.

• A really good showcase for a couple of local artists. Please keep up the good work.

• Interesting

• Just time to uplift my spirits with this exhibition. Best linocuts I’ve seen for a good while from Steve Davies. Particularly intriguing and beautiful = Magdalena’s paintings of eyes + her descriptive narratives.

• Fabulous exhibition!

• Really lovely exhibition! Good contrast between the two artists. Interesting to see the printing process in the cabinet.

• Ringing the Bells – lovely. My grandparents lived through the Coventry Blitz. This brought back fond memories of them. Eagle Owl and Highland Cow. Wow! Absolutely fabulous exhibition. Great work from both artists.