The exhibition title "EX NIHILO" alludes to the ancient theological idea of creation out of nothing, which has long been associated with the myth of creative genius in art history. But instead of celebrating genius, the exhibition focuses on other perspectives: How do artists really work? What paths, detours and pauses are part of the process before a work is created? The focus is on approaches and strategies of artistic creation that seem to run counter to conventional ideas of efficient working methods.

"We want to show that artistic work is neither straightforward nor magical, but is based on a variety of methods and practices," explains Katja Pfeiffer, director of the Kunsthalle Barmen and professor of art at the university of Wuppertal. "These include seemingly banal activities such as aimless wandering, collecting, crafting or resting, as well as deliberate refusal, experimentation, failure or even the destruction of works."

As part of the exhibition, visitors can understand how these processes become visible in contemporary art - and discover works that play with these ideas both humorously and critically.

Paths of inspiration

Among other things, the exhibition refers to the cultural theorist Friedrich von Borries, who describes artistic production in phases such as running around, sleeping in, tinkering, refusing, destroying orexhibiting in his "artistic epistemology" model. As part of the exhibition, his works will take a look at how, for example, walking around or exploring an environment can flank the creative process through the experience of space and the collection of inspiration, or how succinct "tinkering" as a form of material exploration can serve to gain a practical understanding of various aesthetic principles through the shaping of objects.

Other practices also find their place in the exhibition. For example, the artists show how "cornerning" - i.e. lingering, hanging out, waiting or celebrating - often in public places, can inspire the artistic creative process. True to the motto: inspiration often arises where you wouldn't expect it, for example by lingering together in places such as street cafés or parks. "Waiting for inspiration" is understood as an active process in which new ideas and creative impulses are generated by lingering together," says the event announcement.

Overall, EX NIHILO makes it clear that art is not created "out of nothing". Rather, it is a complex, cyclical process of exploration, social exchange, reflection, resistance, resource management, presentation and - sometimes - destruction. The tension between creation and deconstruction thus becomes the motor of artistic knowledge and work production.