Rebecca Horn (1944-2024) is considered one of the most important contemporary German artists. Her sculpture "The Universe in a Pearl" will be on display from 29 March to 30 November 2025 at the Hospitalkirche St. Georg in Lößnitz in Saxony. The exhibition is part of the PURPLE PATH art and sculpture trail, one of the main projects of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025.
Opening of the sculpture on Saturday, 29 March 2025, 4 pm
St George's Hospital Church, Hospitalstraße 2a, 08294 Lößnitz
Exhibition from 30 March to 30 November 2025
Wed-Sun, 12pm-6pm
The sculpture created by Rebecca Horn in 2006 has already travelled through many churches, including London, Mallorca and Hamburg. It was last shown in Berlin's St Hedwig's Cathedral in 2018. Now the vertical sculpture is travelling to St. George's Hospital Church in Lößnitz in the Ore Mountains, which has been specially converted for it.
Three gold-coloured funnels, one above the other, are mounted with a mirror above a rotating, mirrored floor sculpture. Not only do the viewers see themselves in this, they also experience the "sky", the richly decorated ceiling of the church: an illusion is created, an infinite continuation of the mirror image. The endless repetition of the ceiling motif creates a view into an infinite depth, the universe is focussed "into a pearl".
The interdisciplinary performance artist, sculptor, filmmaker and author Rebecca Horn was the first woman to be honoured with the "Goslarer Kaiserring" in 1992, and in 2010 she received the "Nobel Prize for the Arts", the Japanese "Praemium Imperiale". in 1972 she took part in Documenta 5. in 1999, she created the spatial installation "Concert for Buchenwald" for the European Capital of Culture Weimar. in 1994, the Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum New York dedicated large solo exhibitions to her. in 2001, as a professor at the Berlin University of the Arts, she realised the "Santiago de Compostela Project" together with students.
The Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela marks the end of the Way of St James, and the Lößnitz Hospital Church also sees itself as part of the pilgrimage route. As part of the preparations for the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025, the Evangelical Lutheran parish of Lößnitz-Affalter, led by its parish priest Raphael Weiß, decided to rededicate the old cemetery church. With its own funds and support from the regional development programme (FR-Regio), it is being transformed into a cultural and pilgrimage church.
PURPLE PATH art and sculpture trail
Opening from 11 to 13 April 2025
The PURPLE PATH art and sculpture trail will be a major new magnet for art and culture enthusiasts by the end of 2025. It is the most extensive project of Chemnitz 2025 in the Capital of Culture region and will remain for the long term. With the works of important national and international artists, a unique exhibition of contemporary art in rural public spaces is growing in the municipalities of the region. The works by Alice Aycock, Sean Scully, Bettina Pousttchi, Jay Gard, Tony Cragg, Friedrich Kunath and Nevin Aladağ, among others, establish a link between the past, present and future via the places where they were installed, their form, materiality or history of creation. They also forge a symbolic link between the municipalities in the region and between the rural area and the city of Chemnitz, where works such as the striking, luminous chimney, the work "7 Colours for a Chimney" by Daniel Buren, are also part of this art trail.
From Friday 11 to Sunday 13 April 2025, the PURPLE PATH art and sculpture trail will open with inaugurations of new works of art, exhibition openings and other activities in many municipalities in the Capital of Culture region.
Detailed information on the opening weekend will follow.
All information on the art and sculpture trail
"Rebecca Horn: The Universe in a Pearl" is a temporary part of the art and sculpture trail PURPLE PATH of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025. The exhibition is supported by the MOONTOWER FOUNDATION, the workshop Rebecca Horn, Karin and Peter Weyrich, Bad König, the Museum Wiesbaden and the "Kulturkirche 2025". The exhibition is organised by "Kirchenöffner", volunteer members of the Evangelical Lutheran parish of Lößnitz-Affalter.
