Das grosse Gras

During this exhibition period, a room is again being devoted for the first time in a long while to Franz Gertsch’s most monumental woodcut.

Three different versions of "Das grosse Gras" (1999/2001), a three-part, over eight-meter wide woodcut will be exhibited. In terms of motif, the works continues on Gertsch’s paintings "Gräser I" (1995/96) and "Gräser II" (1996/97), and its triptych format reveals a contentual link to "Triptychon Schwarzwasser" (1991/92). Just as the ring-shaped motions of the water spread out from one sheet to the others, "Das grosse Gras" can also be read across the individual prints. In the case of the latter, however, the middle section very clearly lays claim to the most significance, thus corresponding to the origins of the triptych as a three-part retable with a middle section and shutters. The piece’s three-fold nature and simple monumentality creates an aura of the sublime and sacred that is further heightened by the work’s triplification in different hues of color. An exhibition space comes about that has turned into an oasis of meditative calm in our hectic times, inviting the viewer to pause.

A video documentation by Maria Gertsch-Meer, who accompanied her husband during the production of the triptych "Das grosse Gras" from the making of the paper to the completed print, can be seen on request in the museum’s foyer.