Christine Matzke: Bronson Cave, Griffith Park, L.A. 2025/26
About the Artwork
During her 2015 residency at the Villa Aurora in Los Angeles, Christine Matzke explored the origins of the name 'Hollywood.' Her research into the original holly-covered landscape connects botanical, historical, and topographical perspectives, leading her to the former Wilcox family estate (1887) in the Hollywood Hills. Near the historic Bronson Cave, she discovered a single holly tree, that became the starting point of her artistic investigation. This location, steeped in cinematic history, is condensed through her drawings into a pictorial space where botanical discovery, cultural lore, and visual imagination intertwine.
The project extends this connection to the Botanical Garden in Halle (Saale), where Matzke conducted research on the holly species.
About the Artist
Christine Matzke is an artist whose multifaceted work is situated at the intersection of time, memory, and history. She studied at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle, the Bergen Academy of Art and Design, and the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. Her work focuses on voids, fractures, and undocumented periods of time. In the sense of an "archaeology of the present," she examines layers of memories and meanings, transforming them into precise artistic constellations where individual and collective spaces of memory overlap. Drawing is her central medium, functioning as a carrier of traces from condensed processes of visualization and translation. Her works have received numerous awards and grants. She is a lecturer at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle (Saale).
In 2015, Christine Matzke was a fellow at the Villa Aurora in Los Angeles, in cooperation with the Saxony-Anhalt Arts Foundation.
About the Artworks
With The Treadmill – How often does history repeat itself!, Marc Fromm examines the cyclical nature of history as "recurring events in new guise." The installation on the building of the Kunststiftung des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt points to the cycles of historical continuities and their social consequences.
・Location: Saxony-Anhalt Arts Foundation
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In her work Attack of the 5 foot 3 Woman, Fern Liberty Kallenbach Campbell processes a diverse range of impressions from her residency in Los Angeles. Amid Pacific fog and shimmering heat, between the tranquility of Villa Aurora and the relentless sounds of the city, a multilayered field of tension emerges — one of nature, urbanity, silence, noise, and light.・Location: Universitätsring/Opera
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Fern Liberty Kallenbach Campbell's Attack of the 5 foot 3 Woman greets and bids farewell to travellers at Halle (Saale) Central Station At her loom, the artist assembled thread by thread into a woven motif, onto which she painterly applied her impressions of Los Angeles. At the central station, the motif appears in an independent presentation. At the opera house, the work reappears — this time as an extensive pictorial composition.・Location: Halle (Saale) Central Station (Platform 7)
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With Bronson Cave, Griffith Park, L.A. 2025/26, Christine Matzke explores the origins of Hollywood's name. At the heart of her artistic research is the holly — which appears as a central motif in her drawings. The work also draws a connection to the Botanical Garden in Halle (Saale), where Matzke has researched the holly and its botanical context.・Location: Breitestraße/Geiststraße
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With GREAT AGAIN, Klaus Pockrandt addresses the present moment and, as a poster artist, places a timely artistic commentary on the profound political shifts of our time on a building facade at Robert-Franz-Ring. The work poses the question: How do we preserve hope?・Location: Robert-Franz-Ring 20
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In addition to the building facade at Robert-Franz-Ring, Klaus Pockrandt presents photographs from the series Light my fire — an abstract photographic exploration of the city of Los Angeles — linking them to the urban space of Halle (Saale). The artistic work investigates how urban dynamics intertwine across the Atlantic.
・Location: Universitätsring
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About the Project
Building on the success of the Berlin poster project last year, Art on Common Ground is now launching its first edition in Halle (Saale). In the coming months, the project will expand to Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Cottbus, and Frankfurt (Oder), in collaboration with the OSTEN Festival and the BLMK (Brandenburg State Museum of Modern Art).
In a time of social upheaval, Art on Common Ground underscores the essential value of art and culture, aiming to make contemporary art accessible to a broad audience. In this project, advertising spaces and everyday urban environments are temporarily transformed into sites of cultural encounter and artistic exploration. This results in interventions that allow public spaces to be experienced in new ways. The works take on current social issues while creating new ties between Halle and Los Angeles.
To the Locations
The locations of the exhibited works are all within the city of Halle (Saale). Click on the map to enlarge the view.
Click the link below to view an overview of the locations:
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To the Routes
It takes about 90 minutes to walk to all the exhibition venues. Click on the route to enlarge the view. Click the following link to view the entire route:
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It takes about forty-five minutes to walk to all the exhibition venues in the city center. Click on the route to enlarge the view. Click the following link to view the entire city center route:
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It takes about 40 minutes to walk directly from Halle (Saale) Central Station to the Saxony-Anhalt Arts Foundation, and about 25 minutes using a combination of tram and walking. Click on the route to enlarge the view. Click the following link for the direct route from the central station to the Arts Foundation:
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Partners
Villa Aurora & Thomas Mann House e. V. is funded by the Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.
