Herbert Gerisch Foundation

The Herbert-Gerisch-Stiftung (Herbert Gerisch Foundation) is a non-profit art foundation founded in 2001 by Brigitte and Herbert Gerisch and based in Neumünster-Brachenfeld in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is dedicated to the care, promotion and presentation of regional and international contemporary art, and it operates one of the most significant sculpture parks in northern Germany. The foundation is closely associated with its founder Herbert Gerisch, a former board member and later honorary chairman of the BIG-BAU construction group, who also served as mayor and cultural officer of Neumünster and as a member of the Schleswig-Holstein state parliament. With the foundation, the couple pursued the goal of helping transform Neumünster — once a centre of the textile and leather industry — into a "city of modern sculpture". The foundation's campus includes the Villa Wachholtz, a listed Jugendstil villa built in 1903, a historic reform garden by the Lübeck garden architect Harry Maasz, the Gerisch Galerie with around 160 square metres of exhibition space, and a three-hectare landscape park in the style of an English landscape garden. Since 2002 the founders have continuously expanded a sculpture collection designed for annual growth, with works by internationally renowned artists such as Magdalena Abakanowicz, Horst Antes, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Anne and Patrick Poirier, Mimmo Paladino, Manolo Valdés, Menashe Kadishman, Markus Lüpertz and Katsuhito Nishikawa. Later additions include works by Olaf Nicolai, Bogomir Ecker, Thomas Stimm, Brigitte Kowanz and Carsten Höller. After extensive restoration of the villa and the historic garden, the foundation began regular exhibition operations in September 2007 with the exhibition "Henry Moore – Wie die Natur". Since then it has presented up to three major temporary exhibitions per year as well as smaller cabinet exhibitions, complemented by publications, museum education activities, readings, concerts and panel discussions. The foundation and its café are open five days a week during exhibitions. In 2026 the foundation celebrates its 25th anniversary with free admission for the whole year and a jubilee exhibition. The founder Herbert Gerisch died on 1 April 2016 in his home in Neumünster at the age of 93. The foundation continues to operate as an independent cultural institution, maintaining the sculpture park, the historic garden and the exhibition programme.

The Herbert Gerisch Foundation was established in 2001 by Brigitte and Herbert Gerisch in Neumünster, Schleswig-Holstein. Herbert Gerisch was a former board member and later honorary chairman of the BIG-BAU construction group, a former mayor and cultural officer of Neumünster, and a former member of the Schleswig-Holstein state parliament. With the foundation, the couple aimed to help transform Neumünster — once a centre of the textile and leather industry in Schleswig-Holstein — into a "city of modern sculpture". In 2002 Brigitte and Herbert Gerisch began building a sculpture collection designed for annual growth. The collection grew to include works by internationally renowned artists such as Magdalena Abakanowicz, Horst Antes, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Anne and Patrick Poirier, Mimmo Paladino, Manolo Valdés, Menashe Kadishman, Markus Lüpertz and Katsuhito Nishikawa. The sculptures were carefully integrated into the couple's three-hectare landscape park, laid out in the style of an English landscape garden. In 2004 the city of Neumünster transferred the Villa Wachholtz — at that time in need of substantial renovation — to the Herbert Gerisch Foundation as a supplementary endowment (Zustiftung). The villa, built in 1903 by the wallpaper manufacturer Paul Ströhmer to designs by church architect Hans Schnittger, is a Jugendstil building and one of the outstanding villa architectures of Neumünster. It had passed into the ownership of the publisher Karl Wachholtz, nephew of the builder, in 1924. After restoration by the foundation in cooperation with the State Office for Monument Preservation in 2007, the 700-square-metre villa now provides space for temporary exhibitions of contemporary painting, graphics, photography, sculpture and video art, and also houses a museum shop and a bistro café with a garden terrace. Adjacent to the villa is the Gerisch Galerie, housed in the former swimming-pool wing of the modern villa that Herbert Gerisch built in 1967 on the neighbouring plot. The gallery offers around 160 square metres of exhibition space. The historic landscape garden to the north and west of the villa was laid out in 1924/25 by the Lübeck garden architect Harry Maasz as a roughly 2.5-hectare country-house garden in the style of a reform garden. After various uses that led to overgrowth and decay, it was carefully restructured in 2006/07 and has since been listed as a monument. The restoration of the historic reform garden redefined the spatial transitions between the existing sculpture park and the restored historic garden. With the reopening of the park and under the then artistic direction of Dr. Martin Henatsch, new artistic works by Olaf Nicolai, Bogomir Ecker, Thomas Stimm, Brigitte Kowanz and Carsten Höller were added. The sculptural glass fence was designed by Olaf Nicolai. From 2015 to 2016 Prof. Claus Friede led the foundation's artistic direction. Regular exhibition operations began in September 2007 with the exhibition "Henry Moore – Wie die Natur". It was followed by major exhibitions of internationally recognised contemporary art, including solo exhibitions by Ah Xian (2008), Mark Dion (2009), Brigitte Kowanz and Romuald Hazoumè (both 2010), Yehudit Sasportas and Carsten Höller (both 2011) and Thorsten Goldberg (2012), as well as double exhibitions by Cecilia Edefalk/Caroline von Grone (2010) and Olrik Kohlhoff/Bjørn Melhus (2011). The elaborate exhibition "Emil Nolde und sein Sammler Paul Ströhmer" (2011/12) succeeded in reconstructing a largely Expressionist collection that had once been housed in the Villa Wachholtz in the first half of the 20th century. In addition to the major exhibitions, cabinet exhibitions with works by regional artists or historical retrospectives are regularly held on the ground floor of the Villa Wachholtz. Students from art academies, such as the Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts in Kiel (2008) or the University of Applied Arts in Vienna (2010), are also invited at longer intervals. The foundation's activities also include publishing and museum education. Its programme encompasses cultural events, readings, concerts and panel discussions. The foundation and its café are open five days a week during exhibitions. In July 2012 the sculpture park counted 22 sculptures, including works by Horst Antes, Abraham David Christian, Bogomir Ecker, Thorsten Goldberg, Menashe Kadishman, Brigitte Kowanz, Pit Kroke, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Carsten Höller, Res Ingold, Markus Lüpertz, Olaf Nicolai, Morio Nishimura, Mimmo Paladino and Anne and Patrick Poirier. Herbert Gerisch died on 1 April 2016 in his home in Neumünster at the age of 93. The foundation continues to operate, and in 2026 it celebrates its 25th anniversary with free admission for the whole year and a jubilee exhibition.

• 2026

  25th anniversary celebrated with free admission for the whole year and a jubilee exhibition (10 May – 13 December 2026).

• 2016

  Founder Herbert Gerisch dies on 1 April in Neumünster at the age of 93.

• 2015

  Prof. Claus Friede leads the foundation's artistic direction (2015–2016).

• 2012

  Solo exhibition by Thorsten Goldberg; sculpture park counts 22 sculptures in July.

• 2011

  Solo exhibitions by Yehudit Sasportas and Carsten Höller; double exhibition Olrik Kohlhoff/Bjørn Melhus; exhibition 'Emil Nolde und sein Sammler Paul Ströhmer' (2011/12).

• 2010

  Solo exhibitions by Brigitte Kowanz and Romuald Hazoumè; double exhibition Cecilia Edefalk/Caroline von Grone; students of the University of Applied Arts Vienna invited.

• 2009

  Solo exhibition by Mark Dion.

• 2008

  Solo exhibition by Ah Xian; students of the Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts in Kiel invited.

• 2007

  Restoration of the villa and historic garden completed; regular exhibition operations begin in September with 'Henry Moore – Wie die Natur'.

• 2006

  The historic reform garden is carefully restructured (2006/07).

• 2004

  The city of Neumünster transfers the Villa Wachholtz to the foundation as a supplementary endowment.

• 2002

  The founders begin building a sculpture collection designed for annual growth.

• 2001

  Foundation established by Brigitte and Herbert Gerisch in Neumünster.

A private, non-profit art foundation presenting regional and international contemporary art, with a sculpture park of international standing in Neumünster.

• Gerisch Skulpturenpark

  A three-hectare sculpture park in the style of an English landscape garden, with works by internationally renowned artists.

• Villa Wachholtz

  A listed 1903 Jugendstil villa with 700 m² of exhibition space for contemporary painting, graphics, photography, sculpture and video art, plus a museum shop and bistro café.

• Gerisch Galerie

  A gallery with around 160 m² of exhibition space in the former swimming-pool wing of Herbert Gerisch's 1967 villa.

• Historic reform garden by Harry Maasz

  A roughly 2.5-hectare country-house garden laid out in 1924/25, restructured in 2006/07 and listed as a monument.

1. 1start | Gerisch Kunststiftunggerisch-stiftung.de
2. 2Über uns | Gerisch Kunststiftunggerisch-stiftung.de
3. 3Herbert-Gerisch-Stiftungwikidata.org
4. 4Herbert Gerisch-Stiftungde.wikipedia.org