I really enjoy Luxembourg, where I am lucky enough to have some very nice relatives that I unfortunately don't see often enough... The shopping is also really good in Luxembourg, my favourite clothing shop is located in the town center!
A view of Luxembourg city
During my last visit, we crossed the French border, entering the Lorraine region, and visited the Malbrouck castle in a place called Manderen.
The castle, almost completely renovated, boasts a nice atmosphere, and is ideally suited for holding arts exhibitions. Its name comes from... yes, an English duke, well know in England: the famous Duke of Marllborough, John Churchill, which the French (great English speakers as we all know!) at the time called "Malbrouck", hence the name of the castle. The Duke stayed in the castle from January to June 1705.
The exhibition on show from 11 Spetember to December 2011 was from German artist Stephan BALKENHOL. Balkenhol, born in 1957 in Fritzlar, Hessen, makes sculptures, which evoke archetypal behaviour patterns of human life and emotions.
Balkenhol's work reflects the searching of German artists during the 1980s for new means of expression and interpretations of every-day objects.
Typical are his larger-than-life human figures and heads carved directly out of wooden blocks, which he has been making since 1982. Balkenhol uses traditional tools for his woodwork and considers the wood itself a living matter. Grooves, fissures, splinter and cracks on his sculptures document the creative process. The figures, the head, the face - often accentuated by painted markings - are sketchy, sometimes almost portrait-like.
Upcoming exhibitions at the castle in 2012 will feature Ben Vautier (April to September) and Claude Weisbuch (September to December). For more information, you can visit the castle's website:
http://www.chateau-malbrouck.com/dispatch.do?sid=site
(Unfortunately, the website is only available in French and German!)
AA
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