From Goldkronach to Moscow: wall decoration at the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy

“The Lord’s Prayer is of everlasting value!”, Andrea Wunderlich, an artist calligrapher from the town of Goldkronach, Germany, said commenting her work of art. Together with her husband, artist Volker Wunderlich she has brought her calligraphic works to Moscow.

It is not a secret that for a long time Russian calligraphy has been isolated from the rest of the artistic world. The Internet has put an end to it by contributing to the appearance of the Wunderlichs’ works on display in Moscow and in St. Petersburg.

“Building a beautiful and healthy society” is the motto of Alexey Shaburov, the exhibition’s initiator.

New technique

The art lovers learnt about MVK Messen GmbH, an affiliated company from Frankfurt at the Klingspor Museum of Book and Typographic Art in the town of Offenbach, where they also learned about the Wunderlichs for the first time. The couple of artists fitted perfectly into the picture of the International Exhibition of Calligraphy in St. Petersburg.

From Goldkronach to Moscow: wall decoration at the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy Andrea and Volker Wunderlich at their workshop in an old town fire station building in Goldkronach. (Photo: Tomis Nedvidek)

They demonstrated and mesmerized Russian and foreign spectators with their original technique characterized by multiple layers of transparent colours, which resembled ancient church fresco painting.

The artists’ success has brought them to Moscow for the second time. Both times they were invited by Mr. Shaburov. This time it was an invitation to the official opening of the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy in Moscow. The dimensions of the wall provided the artists with a 4x5 m “canvas”, which means this time the wall was larger than the one in St. Petersburg. From an artistic point of view, the task was rather difficult for the organizers intended to put a fireplace window in the same wall. The calligraphic inscription suggested by Mr. Shaburov read, “E pluribus Unum” or “Out of many one” and symbolized the gathering and unity of artists from all over the world. The exposition displayed the works of artists from Germany, India, Israel, Ukraine, Jordan, USA, and Russia. According to Andrea Wunderlich, the exhibition comprised the works of 60 artists from across the world.

From Goldkronach to Moscow: wall decoration at the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy The Wunderlichs from Goldkronach decorated this wall at one of the Moscow museums.

The reckless adventure
Demonstrating art in the country where purchasing necessary art materials or customs clearance can be a problem is a reckless adventure. Besides, most artists even did not speak English, which made communication still more complicated.

“Thus, the language of art can never be universal in calligraphy”, claimed Volker Wunderlich. Variability of working materials equals that of art concepts.

As long as some artists are studiously copying the Holy Scriptures, others like Andrea Wunderlich are focusing on large letters, felt and appreciated by the whole body. According to Andrea Wunderlich, the text should not be conspicuously beautiful, but it should be grasped before the art image.

In her lecture at the opening ceremony, Andrea Wunderlich explained to the Russian audience how she managed to decorate with calligraphic inscriptions a coffin for the Dannreuther burial service.

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Source: International Exhibition of Calligraphy