Commemorative exhibition "Moving Life" at KunstWasserWerk Schwerin
On August 2, 2025, KunstWasserWerk Schwerin invited to the memorial exhibition for the Mecklenburg artist Klaus Illner (1947–2024). In the former pump house of the Old Waterworks Neumühle, the exhibition showcased a diverse body of work that makes life, change, and artistic development visible over decades. Trumpeter Marcus Rust played at the opening.
Illner's work is closely linked to his life story. Born in Mecklenburg, he took an unusual path: from wood sculptor to social worker, from nature observer to soul illustrator. The works on paper and canvas from various creative phases reflect his struggle with social upheavals, personal development, and artistic freedom. More about the artist at klausillner.de.
Adaptable and sincere
After the reunification, Illner's focus shifted from precise, handcrafted depictions of nature to psychologically charged, often expressively intensified portraits. His paintings depict soul landscapes, often fragmented and distorted, but always honest: In their colorfulness, they show emotion, in their form, the courage to embrace fragility.
The exhibition was not only a tribute to an independent artist but also the loving gaze of a son on his father. Matthias Illner describes him as sensitive, courageous, and contentious, qualities that are also reflected in his work.
A life in wood, color, and sound
Klaus Illner was born in 1947 in Woosmer. After graduating from high school, he studied wood design in Leipzig and worked as a wood sculptor in Schwerin in the 1980s, a profession that was also a calling. He found a creative home in the artist group "Oberland".
The political and personal upheavals of the reunification period led him to a new beginning: He trained as a social educator and led the art workshop at the Psychosocial Center Schwerin. This was not a break, but an expansion of his work, as Illner always placed people at the center of his art.
From the image of nature to the image of the soul
Illner's painterly work developed in a wide stylistic range. The early, nature-oriented works gave way in the 1990s to expressive soul images, surreal compositions, and deformed portraits, reflecting inner struggles and societal fractures. He worked with pastel, acrylic, and oil, always with a sure sense of color, space, and expression.
This work was never pleasing: it was honest, sometimes unwieldy, often melancholic, and imbued with a deep need for meaning. Music played a central role. In the Irish folk band "Great Water," which he co-founded, Illner played the mandolin. The sound became color, the color became attitude.
A Legacy in Pictures
Despite economic and familial setbacks, Klaus Illner remained true to his art. His membership in artist groups such as "Schelfe" e. V. and "BaltikArtBridge" demonstrates his need for exchange and artistic reflection. Many of his works are silent chronicles of a life in dialogue with oneself, nature, and society.
The memorial exhibition at KunstWasserWerk was a worthy moment of pause for an artist who not only shaped life but made it tangible. His son summarizes it as follows:
"I am grateful to nature for this father, whom I loved very much. His paintings remain – as a memory, as a legacy, as a dialogue."
(Matthias Illner)
Read more
Klaus Illners Pastels: The Galerie Gortaire in Berlin showcased his nude and body studies in 2026. The analysis: The Naked Human: Klaus Illners Pastels at Galerie Gortaire.
Matthias Illner: The son is also a painter. In his exhibition "The False Sisyphus", figurative painting, ancient symbols, and the present intersect.
ArtWaterWork Schwerin
KunstWasserWerk e. V.
Old Waterworks Neumühle
Neumühler Straße 80
19057 Schwerin
Opening: Saturday, August 2, 2025, 5 PM
with Marcus Rust (Trumpet)
Contact:
info(at)kunstwasserwerk(dot)de
0160 2311978
kunstwasserwerk.de