Zwickau
Exhibition: Eda Aslan - Between Grey and Blue, Between Dust and Rock
What remains of a place once people leave it? What traces do memories leave behind in landscapes, materials, and bodies? And how can the past and present be brought into relation with each other? With the exhibition “Between Grey and Blue, Between Dust and Rock”, the KUNSTSAMMLUNGEN ZWICKAU present the current artistic position of Eda Aslan from August 1 to October 4, 2026. She was awarded the Max Pechstein Promotional Prize of the City of Zwickau in 2025.
The artist moves between installation, sculpture, photography, video, and archival material. Her works weave personal memories with social, political, and ecological questions, creating poetic visual spaces in which individual stories become universal narratives. The starting point for her works are traces—both visible and invisible. She narrates stories of migration, loss, and origins, of changing landscapes and the memories etched into materials. Dust, water, air, and rock become not merely materials, but carriers of history and experience. Fragile glass vessels containing circulating seawater meet works based on forgotten film negatives found in cameras or archives. The past does not appear as a closed chapter, but as something that continues to resonate, evolve, and continually assume new meanings.
Eda Aslan's works open up spaces for contemplation. Rather than providing definitive answers, they invite visitors to understand memory as something fluid—a process unfolding between people, places, and epochs. Her works reveal how closely intertwined personal experiences are with societal developments, and how fragility can simultaneously become a form of strength. The result is an exhibition that connects past and present, directing our gaze toward the traces left behind by people, landscapes, and events—subtle, poetic, and of profound social relevance.
Eda Aslan
Eda Aslan, born in Istanbul in 1993, lives and works in Hamburg. She studied sculpture and painting at Marmara University in Istanbul and continued her studies in the Time-Based Media program at the University of Fine Arts Hamburg (HFBK) as a DAAD scholar. In her cross-media artistic practice, she combines installation, sculpture, photography, video, and archival material. Drawing on personal and collective memories, she investigates the entanglements of history, migration, and identity, producing poetic works that interweave political, ecological, and societal questions with individual experiences.
Her exhibition is presented in conjunction with the Max Pechstein Promotional Prize of the City of Zwickau. The prize honors outstanding young artistic positions and connects with the work of Max Pechstein, whose artistic legacy is closely linked to the city of Zwickau. Eda Aslan was awarded the Max Pechstein Promotional Prize of the City of Zwickau in 2025.
An Opening Weekend for Remembering, Discovering, and Creating
During the opening weekend, an accompanying program invites visitors to explore the themes of the exhibition together. Talks, creative activities, and collaborative experimentation provide new avenues for engaging with memory, materiality, and the traces left behind by humans.
OPENING WITH ARTIST TALK AND DROP-IN WORKSHOP
Saturday, August 1, 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
During the Artist Talk, Eda Aslan will offer insights into her artistic practice alongside Lisa Deml and Marie-Sophie Dorsch (Halle für Kunst Lüneburg e. V.). In the subsequent drop-in workshop, visitors can get creative and give space to their own memories.
Admission free, material fee €2
WHEN TRACES REMAIN
Sunday, August 2, 12:00 pm
Following a short tour of the exhibition, the KreativRAUM turns into an open experimental space for families. Using glue as an invisible trace and sand to make it visible, participants will create small memory collages that illustrate how experiences take shape and endure.
Admission free, material fee €2
PUBLIC GUIDED TOUR
Dust, sand, water, and air—from these seemingly unassuming materials, the 2025 Max Pechstein Promotional Prize recipient Eda Aslan creates poetic spaces imbued with memories and stories. In her work, the Turkish-born artist connects personal experiences with questions surrounding migration, memory, and the traces left behind by people and objects. The guided tour invites visitors to discover the artist's work and reflect together on what connects places, materials, and memories.
Suitable for adults
With museum educator Anne Krzyminiewski
Admission: €5, reduced €4
Further events at www.kunstsammlungen-zwickau.de.
The artist moves between installation, sculpture, photography, video, and archival material. Her works weave personal memories with social, political, and ecological questions, creating poetic visual spaces in which individual stories become universal narratives. The starting point for her works are traces—both visible and invisible. She narrates stories of migration, loss, and origins, of changing landscapes and the memories etched into materials. Dust, water, air, and rock become not merely materials, but carriers of history and experience. Fragile glass vessels containing circulating seawater meet works based on forgotten film negatives found in cameras or archives. The past does not appear as a closed chapter, but as something that continues to resonate, evolve, and continually assume new meanings.
Eda Aslan's works open up spaces for contemplation. Rather than providing definitive answers, they invite visitors to understand memory as something fluid—a process unfolding between people, places, and epochs. Her works reveal how closely intertwined personal experiences are with societal developments, and how fragility can simultaneously become a form of strength. The result is an exhibition that connects past and present, directing our gaze toward the traces left behind by people, landscapes, and events—subtle, poetic, and of profound social relevance.
Eda Aslan
Eda Aslan, born in Istanbul in 1993, lives and works in Hamburg. She studied sculpture and painting at Marmara University in Istanbul and continued her studies in the Time-Based Media program at the University of Fine Arts Hamburg (HFBK) as a DAAD scholar. In her cross-media artistic practice, she combines installation, sculpture, photography, video, and archival material. Drawing on personal and collective memories, she investigates the entanglements of history, migration, and identity, producing poetic works that interweave political, ecological, and societal questions with individual experiences.
Her exhibition is presented in conjunction with the Max Pechstein Promotional Prize of the City of Zwickau. The prize honors outstanding young artistic positions and connects with the work of Max Pechstein, whose artistic legacy is closely linked to the city of Zwickau. Eda Aslan was awarded the Max Pechstein Promotional Prize of the City of Zwickau in 2025.
An Opening Weekend for Remembering, Discovering, and Creating
During the opening weekend, an accompanying program invites visitors to explore the themes of the exhibition together. Talks, creative activities, and collaborative experimentation provide new avenues for engaging with memory, materiality, and the traces left behind by humans.
OPENING WITH ARTIST TALK AND DROP-IN WORKSHOP
Saturday, August 1, 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
During the Artist Talk, Eda Aslan will offer insights into her artistic practice alongside Lisa Deml and Marie-Sophie Dorsch (Halle für Kunst Lüneburg e. V.). In the subsequent drop-in workshop, visitors can get creative and give space to their own memories.
Admission free, material fee €2
WHEN TRACES REMAIN
Sunday, August 2, 12:00 pm
Following a short tour of the exhibition, the KreativRAUM turns into an open experimental space for families. Using glue as an invisible trace and sand to make it visible, participants will create small memory collages that illustrate how experiences take shape and endure.
Admission free, material fee €2
PUBLIC GUIDED TOUR
Dust, sand, water, and air—from these seemingly unassuming materials, the 2025 Max Pechstein Promotional Prize recipient Eda Aslan creates poetic spaces imbued with memories and stories. In her work, the Turkish-born artist connects personal experiences with questions surrounding migration, memory, and the traces left behind by people and objects. The guided tour invites visitors to discover the artist's work and reflect together on what connects places, materials, and memories.
Suitable for adults
With museum educator Anne Krzyminiewski
Admission: €5, reduced €4
Further events at www.kunstsammlungen-zwickau.de.
Dates
Venue
KUNSTSAMMLUNGEN ZWICKAU Max-Pechstein-Museum im ZwischenRAUM
Domhof 2
08056 Zwickau
