Rhein-Zeitung

Exhibition in the castle

Hauderer invite you to a virtual forest tour in Simmern

• Werner Dupuis

October 29, 2025, 10:00 AM

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Living and cultural space, or simply a place where trees grow: the forest has different meanings for people. This is also true for artists, as the annual exhibition of the Hauderer artists, currently on display at the castle in Simmern, clearly demonstrates.

Reading time: 2 minutes

The majority of Germans have a special connection to the forest. For many, it is more than just a place where trees grow; for them, the forest is a habitat and, consequently, a cultural space. This is reason enough for the Hauderer artists to make the forest the theme of their 2025 annual exhibition. The artists' works can be seen in the foyer of the castle in Simmern until November 9th.

Visitors are invited on a visual walk through the woods during the tour. Around 40 impressions of nature, trees, and forests are on display. These are mostly beautiful, idealized, idyllic images of places of longing and a pristine world, far removed from all realities and current events. Ingrid Litzenberger, for example, set up her easel on a November day by the Simmerbach stream below her mill near Gehlweiler. Predominantly in shades of blue and gray, her painting shows that November is not as dreary and gray as often perceived. Karl Kaul, founder, chairman, and grandee of the Hauderer artists' association, delved deep into his palette. He captured the vibrant autumn forest on canvas in all its opulence, as a beacon of light against the November blues.

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Veronika Neumann's two evocative acrylic paintings leap from summer to autumn. Helga Schüler managed to locate and depict the usually invisible spirits of the trees. Dieter Böhm explored his Hunsrück forest in an idealized way. Martin Thomas takes a more critical view of his homeland. His triptych depicts the "asparagusification" of the Külzbach valley by numerous wind turbines that tower high above the trees in the actual forest.

Alexander Stepanov is pursuing a completely different path. He describes his work as abstract wood art. Well-seasoned wood from walnut, mahogany, oak, acacia, beech, or various fruit trees, left natural or stained, sanded or rough, is artfully assembled into his forest scenes.

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"Pause, look, reflect," recommended Michael Boos, mayor of the Simmern-Rheinböllen municipality, to visitors at the opening of the exhibition in his laudatory speech. He noted that 47 percent of his municipality is covered by forest. For many people, the forest is more than just a place for recreation; as a place of longing, it offers security, the desired "escape" in an ever-accelerating world. However, trees are not solitary creatures. "Comparable to human society, they live in symbiosis with their environment," Boos explained.

Joachim Hilbert, forester and member of the Hauderer group, took his audience on a journey into the topic of sustainable forestry. The three ladies of the Great Mothers Band provided musical accompaniment for the opening. The Hauderer, a working group of visual artists from the Hunsrück region, was founded in 1981 and currently has 34 members. All creative people who enjoy painting, drawing, photography, and sculpture are welcome to join.

Further information can be found at www.hauderer.de