The Dieter Krieg Prize ‘Allen Malern herzlichen Dank’ (With heartfelt thanks to all painters) will be awarded in 2025 to the Von der Heydt Museum, which will use the prize money to acquire a work by Jaana Caspary (*1988). The new addition will be celebrated with an exhibition that provides an insight into the work of the Wuppertal-based sculptor. The award is presented by the Dieter Krieg Foundation, established in Munich in 2004, which is dedicated to preserving and promoting the work of the renowned German painter (1937–2005).
Jaana Caspary's works are based on real things. Casts of mundane objects of mass consumption with elaborate basic forms form the basis of her sculptures, which only hint at their original form. She moulds the real object and transfers it into another material, reproduces its basic form, mirrors it or changes its perspective. In this way, the object is removed from its functional context and interpreted as an abstract form. Jaana Caspary demonstrates the sculptural potential inherent in forms that are so familiar to us. Her approach draws on traditions of modern sculpture and transports them into the present.
In addition to the new addition to the collection, the exhibition at the Von der Heydt Museum will present a multifaceted selection of sculptures and wall reliefs, some of them large-format, alongside smaller works. These will mainly be very recent works by the artist. „Malsch Wanne“ (1970) – a series of paintings by Dieter Krieg, one of which is owned by the Von der Heydt Museum – establishes a connection between the two artists in terms of content. In „Malsch Wanne“, Dieter Krieg also invents a form, but gives the impression that it is a real, functioning object.
Jaana Caspary was born in Wuppertal in 1988 and worked as an assistant in Tony Cragg's studio during her training and studies. In 2014, she graduated from the Düsseldorf Art Academy in the sculpture class of Prof. Didier Vermeiren. Since then, she has had numerous group and solo exhibitions, most recently in 2023 at the Skulpturenpark Waldfrieden, the Kunstverein Schwäbisch Hall and in 2025 at the Galerie der Stadt Lüdenscheid. In 2024, she received the ‘Artima’ sponsorship award from Art Karlsruhe.
