CARMEN WÜRTH FORUM IN KÜNZELSAU COMPLETED

On 28 June, Museum Würth 2 for contemporary and modern art will open its doors

The annex to the cultural and convention center Carmen Würth Forum in Künzelsau, Baden-Württemberg, designed by David Chipperfield Architects, is completed. With a total floor space of 5,500 square meters, the new wing adds a multi-purpose conference area and an art museum along with café and foyer to the chamber music hall and the Great Hall. The art museum, Museum Würth 2, will open its doors to the general public on 28 June. It presents principal works of modern and contemporary art of the Würth Collection. Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG spent roughly EUR 39 million on the annex. The keys were officially handed over on Sunday, 21 June.

Museum Würth 2, featuring rooms with a height of more than five meters, provides ideal conditions for highlights of contemporary and modern art of the Würth Collection. The annex fulfils the wish of entrepreneur and collector Prof. Dr. h. c. mult. Reinhold Würth to create a space where the masterpieces of artists of the late 19th, the 20th and 21st century in the Würth Collection can be put on permanent display, similar to the permanent exhibition of the Old Masters of the Würth Collection at Johanniterkirche in Schwäbisch Hall. A frosted glass ceiling ensures subtle changes in illumination. The completely glassed belvedere of Museum Würth 2 opens out onto the Hohenlohe landscape and the spacious sculpture park around Carmen Würth Forum, displaying works by such internationally acclaimed sculptors as Niki de Saint Phalle all the way to Tony Cragg. The cabinet on the lower floor is reserved for smaller formats and light-sensitive works.

A leafy interior court, the adjacent museum shop and Café Atrium connect the museum and the conference area. The new conference area includes eleven rooms that can be connected to house up to 700 people. On top of the Great Hall suitable for events attended by up to 2,500 people, these meeting rooms are perfectly suited for smaller gatherings or large events with workshops and committee meetings organized in parallel to the main event.

Prof. Dr. h. c. mult. Reinhold Würth, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Würth Group's Family Trusts, called the official opening of Museum Würth 2 with an exhibition of the high points of the collection “a kind of a finale of my life’s mission, my life’s work.“ By now, the Würth Collection comprises about 18,300 works of art from about five centuries that the entrepreneur has put together in the course of almost fifty years. “Carmen Würth Forum constitutes a very unusual combination of art, culture and business which is precisely what makes it so special. Now, Carmen Würth Forum is the power center of the entire Würth Group.“ In 2020, the Würth Group looks back on 75 years of corporate history.

David Chipperfield said: “With the second construction stage, we will complete Carmen Würth Forum and implement Reinhold Würth’s vision of a building as a meeting place and gesture to the employees of Würth. It is a symbol of their community beyond the workplace and an interface between the company and the general public.”

When visiting Museum Würth 2 for the first time, Winfried Kretschmann, State Premier of Baden-Württemberg, said: “With Museum Würth 2, the Hohenlohe region – and with it all of Baden-Württemberg – gains a true gem, an aesthetic asset. Reinhold Würth’s inspiration as patron of the arts radiating far beyond the region is remarkable indeed and a blessing for Baden-Württemberg. His passion for art is sure to have benefited his professional life as well.”

C. Sylvia Weber, Director of the Würth Collection: “I am very happy that despite the turbulences also affecting cultural activities these past months, we managed to adhere to the schedule in setting up Museum 2. The collector’s vision enabled us to not simply put works of different genres, intentions and styles side by side, but to really bring them together. The affinities presented here such as Baselitz and Picasso, Munch and Hockney, Tamayo and Katz, Hartung and Antes were created by artists of different nationalities, languages and temperaments. In Museum 2, they found a common home in our collection."

Museum 2 will open with the exhibition “The Long View. Reinhold Würth and His Art Collection”, a distillation of about 150 outstanding contemporary and modern works of art. Visitors will encounter classic works of the Würth Collection by Georg Baselitz, Max Beckmann, Max Ernst, David Hockney, Anish Kapoor, Anselm Kiefer, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Robert Longo, Pablo

Picasso and Gerhard Richter. Also on 28 June, the Museum Würth 2 app will be available in both German and English in the app stores.

About the Würth Group

The Würth Group is the global market leader in its core business—the sale of fastening and assembly materials. It currently consists of more than 400 companies in over 80 countries with roughly 78,500 employees on its payroll. Approximately 34,000 of them are salaried sales representatives. In the fiscal year 2019, the Würth Group generated EUR 14.3 billion in sales.

About the Würth Collection

The Würth Collection comprises about 18,300 works from the 15th century to modern and contemporary art, primarily paintings and sculptures. It ranks among the greatest European private art collections. The works of art are regularly put on display for the public in 15 museums and associated galleries of the Würth Group across Europe, admission is free. Activities of the Würth Collection are borne by the Würth national companies.

For a fact sheet and photos please visit our website www.wuerth.com/carmenwuerthforum