Calliope | Jürgen Partenheimer

Calliope brings together eight vessels by Jürgen Partenheimer – some of which are being exhibited for the first time – which were created at Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory. Under the title Calliope, the muse of epic poetry, the artist developed three basic sculptural forms from which he explores the painterly and graphic possibilities on porcelain. The Online Viewing Room offers a digital extension to the analog presentation in the gallery and sheds light on the elaborate process of creating the hand-thrown unique pieces and on the role of ceramics in Jürgen Partenheimer's work.

The abstract oeuvre of German artist Jürgen Partenheimer follows the contemporary interpretation of modernism, from which he consistently develops his own work. In various forms of artistic expression – painting, sculpture, works on paper, artists books and text - he combines minimalist formal vocabulary with lyrical content.

Installation view, Calliope, max goelitz, Munich (2021) | Photo: Dirk Tacke

"Much as in the Far Eastern tradition, Partenheimer's work in clay consistently adheres to the aesthetic, artistic criteria he applies to his work in general. The distinction between the practical and the beautiful is always purely arbitrary and a product of cultural factors. Only the synergy of both dimensions enables the created vessel to achieve individuality and perfection."

– Christian Ganzenberg, curator and author

Installation view, Calliope, max goelitz, Munich (2021) | Photo: Dirk Tacke

Based on sketches, Partenheimer developed three types of forms that can be traced back to basic geometric elements. The selected forms were hand-thrown, a special process compared to the traditionally used practice of casting molds at Nymphenburg. The shaping hand reveals the rhythm of the thrown material, which undergoes various transformations through several stages - humidity, drying, glazing and firing. Not every vessel withstands these processes, hence Calliope's sculptural shapes are the result of an elaborate, creative process.

Calliope I-III, sketches on paper | Photo: Jürgen Partenheimer

"Jürgen Partenheimer has become passionately and enthusiastically involved in the complex and demanding world of ceramics. He has fallen under the spell of the medium, tested its limits and heard its call. Calliope, through its rigor and fantasy, its accuracy and coherence, makes a significant contribution to contemporary ceramic creation."

– Anne Clair Schumacher, curator, Musée Ariana, Geneva

Installation view, The Archive, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag (2014) | Photo: Alice de Groot

"Jürgen Partenheimer has renounced the traditional functional relationship between model and sculpture, foregone the final step to what might be presumed as completion or perfection and made free variation the actual goal."

– Iris Benner, curator, Museum am Ostwall, Dortmund

Studio view Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg | Photo: Jens Mauritz

"The rhythm of color which determines the chromatic tonal harmony of an image on porcelain does not result in independent creative decisions but is dependent upon the thermal requirements set for each chosen pigment. Thus, the desired color resonance can only rely on imagination and bows to an incalculable risk."

– Jürgen Partenheimer

Studio view Porzellanmanufaktur Nymphenburg (2011) | Photo: Jürgen Partenheimer

"By virtue of having been painted both on the inside and the outside, one can logically infer that one cannot exist without the other, prompting reflection upon the very media used, something that a painting on the wall normally doesn’t provoke.”

– Werner Schnell, art historian and author (2014)

Studio view Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg | Photo: Jens Mauritz