Patron of Blickachsen

The fact that the Blickachsen Sculpture Biennale can now look back on a history covering over 20 years is a testament to the prestige this exhibition enjoys in the world of art, to the role it plays in the cultural life of the Rhine-Main region, and the widespread endorsement it has achieved. Artists from all over the world exhibit their works in the public space in Bad Homburg and other locations in the region. The sculptures blend in with their surroundings, form an interplay with them, and transform them for the duration of the exhibition. The artwork stands in a mutual interrelationship with its stage.

I am pleased to have the opportunity to express my commitment to Blickachsen. We in Hessen live in the middle of Germany, and of Europe. Hessen is multifaceted, open-minded and modern. Its history and tradition are reflected in its art and culture, which at the same time look to the future. Together with all those who contribute to the development of our cultural life, artists pave the way to the future. With its large-scale contemporary sculptures and installations, Blickachsen opens new perspectives and helps shape that future.

This is as important today as ever, given the challenges Europe is facing. The European Union is one of the great political successes of world history. The safeguarding and further development of this success are tasks which our art and cultural life must also address. For this reason, I am particularly happy that Blickachsen is always organized together with a partner museum from another country.

These partnerships allow us to engage in a dialogue going beyond national boundaries, and enable us to share art with each other. In Europe, art and culture have always grown through exchange. With its partner museum concept, Blickachsen acknowledges and reinforces this. Our future does not lie in partition and the return of borders, but in the coming together of Europe. For decades, Europe has given us peace and freedom, prosperity and cultural diversity. We share ideas and basic principles, we depend on each other. Art and culture, also, contribute to the building of bridges in Europe – and Blickachsen is part of this.

Volker Bouffier, Minister President of Hessen