Hannelore Seiffert: From Ceramics Collector to Founder of the Keramik Kunst Museum Stiftung

KKM Keramik Kunst Museum 
Stiftung Hannelore Seiffert
Marienstraße 2, 66538
Neunkirchen, Germany

_{Interior of the Museum - photo courtesy: KKM Stiftung Hannelore Seiffert and JM Schlorke}

_{Exterior View of the Museum - photo courtesy: KKM Stiftung Hannelore Seiffert}

Located in the quaint town of Neunkirchen, Germany, a building with expansive modern glass windows and vermillion steel beams deviates from the traditional architectural landscape of its surroundings. The 300-square-meter museum is home to 400 ceramic sculptures by 150 artists representing 40 countries—all amassed by artist and ardent collector Hannelore Seiffert.

The recently opened Keramik Kunst Museum (KKM) Stiftung Hannelore Seiffert launched just last August, and although the museum has yet to reach a year since its inception, the collection of diverse works by notable ceramicists—Sergei Isupov, Akio Takamori, Beate Kuhn, and Marc Leuthold, to name a few—has been an enduring endeavor in development for over three decades.

_{Beate Kuhn - Objekt aus gedrehten Einzelteilen, Steinzeug, Glasuren / photo courtesy: KKM Stiftung Hannelore Seiffert}

_{Sergei Isupov, Lecture in Art, Keramik, bemalt, 19 x 12 x 15 cm, erw. 2014 (ob.) / photo courtesy: KKM Stiftung Hannelore Seiffert}

It was never Seiffert’s intention to build a museum that eponymously boasts her name. In fact, there might not have been a museum at all if the director of the Städtische Galerie Neunkirchen hadn’t asked Seiffert to exhibit a selection of her collection in their gallery space back in 2018. Unbeknownst to all, the show would become the first flap of the butterfly effect that would transpire into the establishment of a museum.

The 2018 exhibition Brennpunkt Keramik garnered remarkable recognition and esteem, precipitating a sequel presentation two years later bearing the same title—Brennpunkt Keramik II. The continued enthusiasm for the second show prompted the gallery director to propose the idea of having Seiffert’s collection on permanent display for the public.

_{Photo courtesy: KKM Stiftung Hannelore Seiffert and JM Schlorke}

Hannelore Seiffert’s home is a cabinet of curiosities, crowded with a cornucopia of works—over 1,200 ceramic pieces by more than 400 ceramicists. Visitors are entranced, enamored, and enlightened while exploring and experiencing her extensive archive of contemporary ceramic history. Her collecting habits heightened from preoccupation to obsession, and as her collection grew, so did her house. After numerous reconstructions, expansions, and extensions, she reckoned with having to halt her collecting compulsions due to spatial impracticalities.

Initially reticent about sponsoring a museum, she accepted the proposal after experiencing an existential contemplation catalyzed by her upcoming 80th birthday. Realizing that with no children or family to inherit her collection, she needed to find a caretaker and a permanent home. On the occasion of her octogenarian celebration, she established the Hannelore Seiffert Foundation for International Unique Ceramics, and the development of the museum commenced.

_{Akio Takamori, Woman in Kimono, 44 x 26 x 28 cm, erw. 2013 (re.) / photo courtesy: KKM Stiftung Hannelore Seiffert}

Upon entering the Keramik Kunst Museum, visitors are confronted by a stark, white-lit room with bursts of hues dispersed throughout the space. Unlike traditional museums that follow the curatorial principle of arranging works by provenance or period, the pieces in Seiffert’s museum are organized by their formal qualities—colors, concepts, shapes, and themes.

One wall by the entrance of the main gallery displays figures on plinths—a kneeling Japanese woman sculpted by Akio Takamori sits beside an ominous bust by Christof Reichenbach and an obscured, ghostly portrait by Jindra Vikova. On the opposite side, geometric clay abstractions include Karin Flurer-Brünger’s pod-shaped vessel, perched adjacent to a luminous turquoise blobject by Peter Beard. The eye then wanders to a titillating fungal piece by Ursula Commandeur and an architectural assembly of mixed-media slices by Kyra Spieker.

Moving further into the space, the works are divided by modular shelves and again, unlike traditional museums, the works are displayed sans glass barriers, creating an intimate experience akin to what Seiffert experiences at home. One section flaunts white monochromatic works exhibiting artists such as Sangkyoung Lee, Frank Schillo, Paula Bastiaansen, and Kyungmin Lee. Adjacent, a wall adorned with monochromatic black sculptures transitions into another area where exquisite sculptures combine black and white—by artists including Michael Cleff, Carla de Vrijer, and Suku Park, among others. Although unified in color and medium, each work stands uniquely distinct in tone, texture, form, and experience—highlighting both the universality of clay and the individuality of the artist.

_{Michael Cleff - Über innen und außen, Steinzeug, Glasur, 22 x 30 x 23 cm, erw. 2003; Dots gelocht, Steinzeug, Glasur, 23 x 23 x 16 cm, erw. 2005 / photo courtesy: KKM Stiftung Hannelore Seiffert}

_{Carla de Vrijer - Doppelschlinge, Raku, 35 x 36 x 10 cm, erw. 2018 / photo courtesy: KKM Stiftung Hannelore Seiffert}

_{Imre Schrammel, Minotaurus (knieend), Steinzeug, gesandet, 32 x 13 x 12 cm, erw. 2008; Minotaurus (sitzend), Steinzeug, gesandet, 32 x 14 x 20 cm, erw. 2008 / photo courtesy: KKM Stiftung Hannelore Seiffert}

Icy washes of blue sculptures splash one area of the gallery, while a curious installment of ships by Frank Steyaert anchors another. Dozens of figures are concentrated in the center: Ucki Kossdorff’s vibrant and sensuous nude woman contrasts with the mythical minotaurs of Imre Schrammel. Heidi Preuss Grew’s animalistic creatures embodying true love share a shelf with Eberhard Szejcecki’s endearing portrayal of the same subject. Alan Peascod’s totemic terra sigillata is stacked beneath Helmut Massenkeil’s stoic bust and Christy Keeney’s melancholy, ochre portrait.

Seiffert admits to having a particular penchant for figurative works, evidenced not only by the profusion of these pieces in the main gallery but also by the conjoined room dedicated to the works of figurative ceramicist Maria Geszler-Garzuly, one of Seiffert’s most collected artists and a dear friend.

_{Maria Geszler-Garzuly, Steinernes Herz, Porzellan, Siebdruck, 82 x 34 x 22 cm, erw. 2002 (li.) / photo courtesy: KKM Stiftung Hannelore Seiffert}

_{Mária Geszler-Garzuly, Drei Geigen, Partitur György Kurtág (l.), Brief (M.), Kräne über floralem Muster (r.), Porzellan, Siebdruck, Glasur, jeweils ca. 60 x 24 x 10 cm / photo courtesy: KKM Stiftung Hannelore Seiffert}

A significant number of the works in the museum are by artists who have built profound friendships with Seiffert, making her initial hesitation about parting with her pieces an understandable concern. They aren't merely pretty objects or perceived investments but memories of past visits with artists, discoveries of new talents and innovations, and excitement for the expanding field of clay. Now, however, the museum serves as an extension of her home. She frequents the space, conducts monthly walkthrough tours, and regales visitors with her encyclopedic knowledge and personal anecdotes. The enjoyment she once experienced walking past the ceramics in her home every day is now shared with the public through an extraordinary curation.

Seiffert's keen eye has resulted in a vast collection of works by artists who have left their mark on 20th and 21st-century ceramics—many of whom may not have reached great prominence without the early financial and emotional support of collectors like Hannelore Seiffert.

Visit KKM Keramik Kunst Museum Stiftung Hannelore Seiffert at Marienstraße 2, 66538
Neunkirchen, Germany. Learn more about the museum and the collection on their website.

The Ceramic History of Westerwald, Germany

The Origins - The Westerwald Clay Region

The vast and extensive clay quarries in the Westerwald region represent the largest connected deposits in Europe. Only a few other regions in the world are known to have clay sources of comparable size and quality. The Westerwald clay is distinguished by its exceptional ductility, virtually impurity-free composition, and excellent sintering properties. These clays are perfectly suited for stoneware production–a high-fired, waterproof, acid-resistant, impermeable clay.

The rich clay resources, together with abundant timber in the region, earned Westerwald the moniker "Pot Bakers’ Land" or Kannenbäckerland. The proximity of major long-distance trade routes such as the Salt Way and the Rhine, key European arteries, was pivotal in transforming Westerwald and its stoneware into an international success story.

Stoneware from Inception to the Renaissance

Kilns capable of reaching temperatures up to 1200 °C were documented in the Rhineland as early as the 13th century. The oldest documented evidence of pottery kilns in Höhr dates back to the year 1402.

Extremely poor working conditions, warfare, and penury triggered migration movements across Europe, including the Westerwald region. Around 1600 skilled pottery masters from the Rhineland, Raeren in Belgium, and Lorraine began migrating to the so-called Pot Bakers’ Land (Kannenbäckerland). They infused fresh vitality into local craftsmanship, bringing new forms, decorative motifs, and new glazing and firing techniques. As a result, the pottery trade in the region experienced a major boost in the following centuries.

During this period, the distinctive pottery of the Pot Bakers’ Land developed: a grey, salt-glazed stoneware vessel adorned with cobalt blue painted decorations. The vessel shapes often show a carinated or angular shape achieved by the emphasized articulation of the different body parts through fluting or ridges. Cobalt blue painting was complemented by additional decorative techniques such as stamping and applications.

These vessels were embellished with depictions of prince-electors, bishops, biblical narrative cycles, and very mundane scenes featuring barn dances or mercenaries. Apart from everyday household ware produced for local sale, the potters also worked on commissions that were traded and sold internationally. Westerwald stoneware had become a product on the global market!

The Baroque Period

In Germany, the Baroque period, a new Italian style that developed after the deprivations of the Thirty Years’ War (1618 – 1648), had a significant impact on pottery. Westerwald experienced an economic upturn, leading to the establishment of new potteries everywhere. In 1771, the guild in the Pot Bakers’ Land (Kannenbäckerland) reached its zenith with six hundred master craftsmen in twenty-three villages. Aside from these, there were many so-called Schnatzer–individuals who, for various reasons– could not or should not be named master. The increasing number of competing potters led to a decline in quality, subsequently causing prices to fall. Faced with this situation, regional authorities were forced to take regulatory measures.

In addition to everyday pottery, craftsmen in the region specialized in creating drinking vessels, figurines, and ornamental pieces. Appliqué as adornment became popular—lozenges, medallions, rosettes, or blossoms were intricately and elaborately crafted and placed. Furthermore, new patterns were introduced, such as hatched lines or impressions made using a wooden stick and stamped decoration.

The products originating from the Kannenbäckerland were renowned for their high quality supra-regionally. Affluent clientele, including the aristocracy, entrusted and commissioned the potters with their specific wishes and needs. This is evident in the personal crests or emblems, such as "GR" for George Rex (King George of England).

Historicism:

18th to 19th Century

From the 18th century onwards, traditional stoneware products faced stiff competition from European porcelain and modern stoneware, gradually losing favor among solvent customers. Out of necessity, the potters focused on producing greyish-blue everyday household tableware up to the middle of the 19th century.

A turning point occurred in 1864 with the recruitment of Bohemian modeler Reinhold Hanke. The long-desired technical and artistic change finally began as Hanke applied his skills to the hitherto traditional stoneware production, collaborating with

Peter Dümler, a talented designer in his company. By 1872, they developed a plaster vessel mold for repeated use, accommodating a thrown clay barrel. This new method enabled Hanke to create intricate, custom-made objects. Honored at world fairs and the recipient of numerous international awards, Hanke is seen as a legitimate heir to the long-standing Rhenish stoneware potters.

Progress now took its course. Driven by factory owners Friedrich Wilhelm Merkelbach II and Georg Peter Wick, improvements in industrialized production increased significantly. This marked a transformative era where traditional German stoneware could now be efficiently mass-produced.

Moreover, the educational reforms initiated by the Prussian government led to the establishment of three major technical colleges devoted solely to ceramics: in Landshut, Bavaria (1873); in Höhr–Grenzhausen (1879); and the former Silesian Bunzlau, now Bolesławiec in Poland (1897). The potter's craft transitioned from being solely passed down through hands-on apprenticeships to becoming a subject of scientific research and analysis, reflecting a broader spectrum of knowledge and skills beyond traditional workshop teachings.

Art Nouveau

During the increasing industrialization, an artistic counter-movement arose all over Europe at the turn of the 20th century, striving for a renewed strengthening of individualized craftsmanship.

To prevent the region's stoneware manufacturers from missing the boat, internationally renowned artists and designers were engaged. In 1901, Henry van de Velde (1863-1957) arrived in Westerwald, sparking a radical shift in stylistic approach. Simultaneously, Peter Behrens (1868-1940) contributed style drafts and templates, infusing the traditional greyish-blue appearance of Westerwald stoneware with a contemporary design.

Certain factory owners, including Simon Peter Gerz I, Merkelbach & Wick, and Reinhold Merkelbach, took an active role and established successful connections with renowned artists like Richard Riemerschmid (1868-1957). This collaboration ushered in a period of artistic renewal and innovation within the Westerwald stoneware industry.

To ensure their survival, the majority of companies continued manufacturing conventional household stoneware. Products embodying the Art Nouveau spirit appeared overly ornate for the average customer, leading to limited success for these new ceramic offerings. Only a select few companies achieved success with these new ceramic products.

Mass Production in the Post-War Period

After a reduction in output during World War II, pottery factories gradually returned to pre-war levels of activity in the 1950s, with a primary focus on the mass production of tableware. The Westerwald potteries emerged as the main designers and producers of the Fifties, experiencing a flourishing business that led to the creation of numerous new jobs. For instance, the Jasba company saw a sixfold increase in its workforce between 1948 and 1955.

Immigrant workers from Italy and Turkey also found employment in the concentrated pottery industry, centered mainly around the town of Ransbach-Baumbach. This economic miracle in the stoneware industry ushered in an era of prosperity for the Westerwald region, which endured until the 1990s.

Developments in Craft During the 20th Century

In contrast to other fields of fine art, the evolution of ceramic arts unfolded gradually and without sharp stylistic incongruities. This continuity was partly because handicrafts were not condemned as degenerate art by the Nazi regime; instead, they were supported for their perceived (Germanic) folksiness.

Potters such as August Hanke (1875-1938) and Elfriede Balzar-Kopp (1904-1983) received high acclaim in national and international competitions for their traditional craftsmanship.

In the post-war period, Westerwald potteries survived by producing crockery in the style of the Thirties. As economic conditions improved, potters began to experiment once again, seeking more individualized forms of expression. The ceramic vessel started to free itself from its traditional role as a functional object, evolving into an autonomous art object. Creative principles from the fine arts and performing arts, such as assemblage, repetition, rhythm, or deconstruction, were applied to ceramics.

^{Elfriede Balzar-Kopp carving pattern, probably 1930s - photo courtesy:
Kreisbildstelle des Westerwaldkreises, Foto Georg Gerlach}

Contemporary Art in Höhr-Grenzhausen

Those working or studying at the State Technical College for Ceramics (Fachschule), the Institute for Ceramic and Glass Arts (IKKG), or those active in the many workshops of the region share a common curiosity about what ceramic and glass materials can convey and how to express the art form.

But, the long history of Westerwald stoneware also calls for reflection: What does this place and region mean to us? How does our ceramic culture relate to neighboring regions or other cultures? Many artists employ century-old pottery techniques like wheel throwing or salt glazing to create new and contemporary objects. Every two years, students carry out a firing in the last functioning traditional salt kiln. By immersing themselves in this historical continuum, the region remains vibrant and well-prepared for its artistic future. The narrative of Westerwald pottery continues!

CONTRIBUTOR

Nele van Wieringen has been the Director of the Keramikmuseum Westerwald since 2018. She completed her master's degree at Koblenz University, Institute for Ceramic and Glass Arts in Höhr-Grenzhausen. There, she earned her doctorate in collaboration with the University of Art and Design Linz with a thesis on the art-theoretical conception of color in ceramics.