MUNICH.- On Saturday, 21 July, the Augustinum Stiftung (Munich) presented the winners of the seventh euward, the European art award for painting and graphic arts by artist with mental disabilites. Up to 9 September 2018, the euward exhibition at Buchheim Museum in Bernried shows 130 artworks by the three award winners, the winner of the special award and all nominated artists.

Joachim Gengenbach, chairman of Augustinum Stiftung, presented the awards to Michael Golz (Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany), Ota Prouza, (Brtníky, Czech Republic), Clemens Wild (Bern, Switzerland) and Time ter Wal (Almere, Netherlands). „Shining a light on art: That is the aim of euward. Every time we try to find new ways to broaden the niche in which this kind of artists work“, Gengenbach said during the gala. „I thank all artists who stimulate, charm, inspire, colour and enrich our lives.“

Daniel J. Schreiber, member of the euward-jury and director of Buchheim Museum, explained why the Buchheim Museum, known for its expressionism collection, is an ideal place for the exhibition: „Every art that does more than depict what is there, is expressionistic. This is more than true for the art of euward.“ euward7-patron Edgar Selge emphasized his solidarity with the artists: „In today’s society, the question of belonging is more acute than ever. The only way to feel like belonging somewhere is to convey to others that they belong. This surpasses inclusion.“ And euward-curator Klaus Mecherlein said during his eulogies: „All artworks in this exhibition have something in common: They demand a radical openness oft he senses.“

Infinite world – First prize: Michael Golz
Michael Golz (b. 1957) lives in Mülheim an der Ruhr. After attending a school in the Swabian Alb, where he discovered his love for nature, he returned home in 1974. At the same time, he began his map projects, the hand-drawn “Athos map“. With its monumental dimensions, it has now not only become a life-long artwork, but also shows an astonishing aesthetic and systematic constancy. At its core is a roughly one-hundred-and-thirty square-metre map, drawn and painted on paper. It consists of many individual parts, glued together and into one another. The smaller map pieces were then individually taped together. Their cartographic drawing shows an astonishing attention to detail and realism. At the same time, however, it also conveys a thoroughly emotional, painterly value. The map is supplemented with several hundred hand drawings, which refer to individual places on the map. Finally, as its third element, the Athos world is described verbally. Golz has set down part of this in a glossary.

Choreographed chaos – Second prize: Ota Prouza
Ota Prouza (b. 1959) has lived for more than 50 years in a sheltered home for the handicapped in the town of Brtníky in northern Bohemia. Little is known about his family or his biography. He has no professional training; even his reading and writing abilities are very limited. Despite living in a rural setting, he has been fascinated by the hustle and bustle of the big city all his life, depicting it in drawings on paper strips many meters long and roughly pasted together. Usually thickly drawn, he creates a rough sketch of the world from a bird’s eye view.

Strong women – Third prize: Clemens Wild
Clemens Wild (b.1964), started drawing women at the age of eleven. He has been a member of the Rohling collective and its studio, Bern, since 2012. It is a collective of artists with and without disabilites at PROGR in Bern, Switzerland. In his drawings, Wild documents his day-to- day life at the home in a combination of text and images, relating the fate of simple people on the margins of society. Often with a wagging finger, his figures – as he himself likes to do it – point out the strategies of discrimination in society. Wild‘s drawings put the people who live in the shadows in the spotlight, like cleaning women.

Landscapes without humans – Special award by the jury: Tim ter Wal
Tim ter Wal (b. 1982) lives in Almere, Netherlands. “I was born autistic,” he writes about himself on his website, and continues: „Many people believe that autism is an illness, but I see it only as a gift. My memory is my camera.” Solely with the aid of this unusual visual memory, ter Wal draws hyperrealistic views of industrial complexes and cities, always starting at the left downward edge of the paper. He works his way up, without a plan, schematics or any kind of drawing aid. His motifs are giant industrial complexes that he visited as a child. Twenty years later he still recalls and draws every detail.