Luisa Heese – författare

MadC: Street to Canvas is the first monograph on the world-renowned contemporary artist and muralist MadC (Claudia Walde), whose practice moves dynamically between the street and the studio to capture the energy of painting and test the heights of its possibility. For more than two decades – from her beginnings in the 1990s as a graffiti artist in the local scene of Bautzen in east Germany to largescale public murals on an international level – MadC has captivated global audiences with her distinctive style, characterised by abstract compositions of bold, sweeping lines and transparent layers of vivid colours. Writer and curator Luisa Heese charts the artist’s career, exploring MadC’s immense body of work in locations across more than 35 countries. Over 200 artworks and personal photographs illustrate the book, showcasing her unique use of colour and the spontaneous movement of lines produced by spray cans and brushstrokes. From street to canvas, MadC adorns each surface with a vivacity that surpasses cultural barriers. Traversing private and public spaces, her work constantly blurs the lines between street art and fine art. What is revealed is the potential for art to be an inclusive and universal language to connect and inspire people and communities around the world.

Kunsthalle Mannheim had one of the first collections of Expressionism in Germany's museums – until most of the works previously acquired were confiscated by the National Socialists in 1937. The significance of Expressionism for the museum's history is now being explored for the first time in this catalogue, which presents the outstanding collection of paintings, prints and sculptures, as well as high-quality loans of previously confiscated works and masterpieces from private collections in Mannheim. It includes works by Erich Heckel, Alexej von Jawlensky, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Oskar Kokoschka, Otto Mueller, Max Pechstein, Emil Nolde, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Maria Uhden, Milly Steger and Gabriele Münter, with a particular focus on sculptor Wilhelm Lehmbruck and his close patron Sally Falk. The publication offers a detailed insight into the history of this fascinating stylistic epoch in Mannheim and introduces important works and their place within the Kunsthalle's collection.Examining masterpieces of ExpressionismRediscovery of female positions in ExpressionismCritical evaluation of the art-historical canonExhibition: Kunsthalle Mannheim, September 26, 2025 to January 11, 2026