To mark the end of the European Capital of Culture year, the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz are presenting a major solo exhibition on Carlfriedrich Claus, one of the region's most important artists, from November 27, 2025 to March 1, 2026.Carlfriedrich Claus. Am Rand des Jetzt am Rand des Hier focuses on the artist's phonetic work. The centerpiece is the installation of the so-called sound process room, which was first shown at the Kunstsammlungen am Theaterplatz in 1995 and is now being reconstructed to mark its 30th anniversary.
In the 1950s, the self-taught artist from Annaberg-Buchholz began to explore the sound and visual properties of letters and words using his first poems, so-called sound structures and letter fields. Writers and artists around the world were pursuing similar questions at this time, and so a network of representatives of visual and acoustic poetry developed, in which Carlfriedrich Claus was a highly esteemed player despite his isolation in the GDR.
Claus himself always regarded his works as a separate kind of literature. His so-called Sprachblätter, which were created from the 1960s onwards, are recorded thought processes. The artist dealt intensively with philosophical, socio-political or scientific topics and processed his theoretical reflections in drawings and prints, in which legible and illegible writing as well as symbolic elements are mixed. In the 1980s, he once again turned his attention to acoustic literature and investigated pre-linguistic processes, sounds and affects.
Claus' artistic aim has always been to actively involve the audience: his speech sheets encourage reflection, his sound processes encourage people to experiment with their own speech organs and explore the effect on their own consciousness. The sound process room combines these approaches to create a unique sound environment that visitors can control themselves through their movements. The installation is complemented by drawings, portfolios, documents and books, which provide a comprehensive insight into the artist's cosmos of thought and work.
Since 1999, the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz and the Carlfriedrich Claus Archive Foundation have been preserving his extensive estate: 575 hand drawings, around 850 prints, numerous sound recordings as well as manuscripts, diaries, letters and a library with almost 10,000 volumes make it a unique testimony to the art history of the second half of the 20th century.
In the 1950s, the self-taught artist from Annaberg-Buchholz began to explore the sound and visual properties of letters and words using his first poems, so-called sound structures and letter fields. Writers and artists around the world were pursuing similar questions at this time, and so a network of representatives of visual and acoustic poetry developed, in which Carlfriedrich Claus was a highly esteemed player despite his isolation in the GDR.
Claus himself always regarded his works as a separate kind of literature. His so-called Sprachblätter, which were created from the 1960s onwards, are recorded thought processes. The artist dealt intensively with philosophical, socio-political or scientific topics and processed his theoretical reflections in drawings and prints, in which legible and illegible writing as well as symbolic elements are mixed. In the 1980s, he once again turned his attention to acoustic literature and investigated pre-linguistic processes, sounds and affects.
Claus' artistic aim has always been to actively involve the audience: his speech sheets encourage reflection, his sound processes encourage people to experiment with their own speech organs and explore the effect on their own consciousness. The sound process room combines these approaches to create a unique sound environment that visitors can control themselves through their movements. The installation is complemented by drawings, portfolios, documents and books, which provide a comprehensive insight into the artist's cosmos of thought and work.
Since 1999, the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz and the Carlfriedrich Claus Archive Foundation have been preserving his extensive estate: 575 hand drawings, around 850 prints, numerous sound recordings as well as manuscripts, diaries, letters and a library with almost 10,000 volumes make it a unique testimony to the art history of the second half of the 20th century.
