FOUNDATION AND MUSEUM
Grossherzog-Leopold-Platz 1 | 79359 Riegel am Kaiserstuhl | Germany
The year 2024 was a very special one for the Kunsthalle Messmer, as we were able to celebrate our 15th anniversary in the summer. Since the opening in 2009, around one million visitors have shared our enthusiasm for art. During this time, around 50 groundbreaking exhibitions by renowned artists such as Picasso, Chagall, Niki de Saint Phalle, Warhol and many others were realised.
The Messmer Collection has the world’s largest and most important collection of works by the Swiss artist André Evard (1876-1972). From 1913, Evard’s painting focused on geometric abstractions, making him one of the pioneers of this style in Switzerland. Dedicating a prize to this founding father of concrete-constructive art has been a central concern for Jürgen Messmer since the Kunsthalle was founded. With 10,000 euros, the International André Evard Prize is now one of the most important awards for concrete-constructive art and will once again attract art enthusiasts from all over the world to Riegel this year.
The messmer foundation emerged in 2006 from the Petra and Jürgen A. Messmer Foundation, which Jürgen A. Messmer established in 2005 in memory of his daughter and business partner Petra Kerstin, who passed away in 2003. Design and art had always closely connected father and daughter. With the renaming to messmer foundation, the institutional basis for sustainable and professional museum work was created.
The foundation is supported by kunsthalle messmer, which opened on June 20, 2009 with the exhibition “Hommage to André Evard”. The Kunsthalle is located in part of the former Riegeler brewery castle, more than 130 years old, at the confluence of the Dreisam, Elz and Glotter rivers. Works of Classical Modernism and contemporary art are presented on around 900 square meters of exhibition space as well as in a spacious sculpture garden.
Since its opening, the Kunsthalle has developed into one of the most important exhibition venues for modern and contemporary art in southern Germany. Around one million visitors have attended the exhibitions over the past 15 years. The year 2024 marked a special milestone in the history of the institution with its 15th anniversary. During this period, around 50 groundbreaking exhibitions were realized, including presentations by internationally renowned artists such as Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Niki de Saint Phalle and Andy Warhol. This has established the Kunsthalle as an important cultural attraction in the region.
The institution gains a distinctive profile through the Messmer Collection. It comprises the world’s largest and most significant holdings of works by the Swiss artist André Evard. As early as 1913, Evard turned to geometric abstraction and is regarded as one of the pioneers of Concrete-Constructive art in Switzerland. In 1975, Jürgen A. Messmer succeeded in acquiring large parts of the artistic estate, thereby laying the foundation for this unique collection focus.
In honor of the artist, the International André Evard Prize was established—a central concern of Jürgen A. Messmer since the founding of the Kunsthalle. With prize money of €10,000, the award is now among the most important prizes in the field of Concrete-Constructive art. Every 3 years, several hundred artists from around the world apply; a selection of outstanding positions is presented in a major group exhibition in Riegel. This year, too, the competition will once again draw international attention to the Kunsthalle and strengthen its role as a vibrant venue for Constructive and Concrete art.
In this way, the messmer foundation brings together collecting, exhibiting and active support for the arts—and consistently carries its founder’s commitment forward into the future.
2026 is a special year for Evard: we are celebrating his 150th birthday. On the occasion of this anniversary, his work will be honored internationally. First, the work will be presented at Galerie Schrade at Schloss Mochental in a solo exhibition, “André Evard – Early Abstraction 1920–1960”, from March 1 to April 26, 2026. Evard’s work will then be shown from June 12 to September 20, 2026 in an exhibition at the Powerlong Museum in Shanghai, where it will be introduced to a new audience in China and underscore the artist’s global significance.
Afterwards, we will welcome the works back to Riegel for a major exhibition, “150 Years of Evard & the Avant-Gardists”, from October 17, 2026 to April 18, 2027, in which Evard will be shown in connection with artists such as Baumeister, Paul Klee and other internationally renowned figures.