AT HOME The view through the keyhole
Living in the Ruhr area - seen by art
13 May to 16 September 2012
 

Living in the Ruhr area – many have a preconceived idea about workers' settlements and 'Gelsenkirchen Barock' design. Hardly anything says so much and requires less explanation than private rooms when it comes to "getting an idea". How artists approach the phenomenon of living is seen for the first time in this comprehensive exhibition. Whether its is historical living style, photography, painting, new media or objects; a look through the keyhole is risked in all categories and the voyeur gets his money's worth.
Visitors are invited to interactively participate in the exhibition. Exhibits, whether objects or photographs, can be brought to the LUDWIGGALERIE and go on to demonstrate the characterisation of the environment as a kind of work in progress.

Vanitas Vanitatum! The Tödlein from the Ludwig Collection
Representation of death in the early modern period
5 February 2012 to 6 May 2012
 

In the finest carving technique, this ivory Tödlein ("Little Death") communicates its message: the transience of life and the decay of flesh. Swarming animals demonstrate the sinfulness of mankind. Toads and snakes represent the animals from hell; flies – the infernal beings – even take on the place of the heart. The body is laid inside a box decorated with ivory and ebony marquetry that can be viewed through the side even when the lid is closed.
This cabinet exhibition is dedicated to the unique work of commemorative culture from the Peter and Irene Ludwig collection and is supplemented by further graphic and figurative representations of death, in which the Basle Dance of Death also plays a role.

The 7 1/2 lives of Walter Moers
From Little Asshole to Captain Bluebear and Zamonia
25 September 2011 to 15 January 2012
 

For the first time an exhibition has been dedicated to the work of the graphic artist and author Walter Moers in all of its rich diversity. Some connect his name with the politically consistently incorrect comic figure of Kleines Arschloch or Little Asshole, others take him for an ingenious weaver of sailor's yarns recounting the Captain Bluebear stories for children. And yet others perceive him as the founder of worlds in the Zamonia realm.
But Walter Moers has created a whole lot more in his 7½ lives. A sheer inexhaustible diversity of figures and an overflowing play on words and language can now be experienced in original in Oberhausen. Accoladed with a host of awards for his various genres, Moers tells his tales with irony and satire, and on many occasions with a distinct tendency towards the grotesque as well.
Many more than 100 works present one of the most important storytellers in Germany in his full medial bandwidth. Museum coverage has been long overdue.