Noack: Next
- Ilona Oltuski
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
A film by Andrei Kalesnikau
In cooperation with Althafen Foundation and Noack Bildgiesserei & Gallery
Presented by the Althafen Foundation, Andrei Kalesnikau's documentary intimately explores the historic legacy of Berlin’s iconic Noack foundry, whose name echoes through the annals of European art history and is responsible for casting some of the most iconic sculptures of our time. Looking back at the foundry’s past since its founding more than 125 years ago, in 1897, the film offers a behind-the-scenes look, opening the gates to its – until now – clandestine territory of art-making to the public and the new formation of its next generation of leadership.
“This place isn’t just about the incredible craftsmanship and stunning sculptures produced here for over a century. Above all, it's about the people who fill it with life and make it truly unique,” says the film’s director, cinematographer Andrei Kalesnikau.
The film captures Noack’s architecturally beautiful and timelessly elegant appearance, creating a space that provides continuity of its cultural connotation as a significant hub for many distinguished, internationally renowned sculptors, past and present, including artists like Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Käthe Kollwitz, Henry Moore, Joseph Beuys, Rainer Fetting, Georg Baselitz, Heinz Mack, Jonathan Meese, and many others.
But it does not intend to dwell on such an aesthetic celebration alone. Instead, the film focuses on the everyday life of the family and their closest collaborators, who are responsible for the artistic work that Noack has always helped bring about through their essential collaborations and innovations in the concept of sculpture.
With a window into its storied art history, the foundry’s legacy is closely intertwined with that of Berlin and Western Democracy during the Iron Curtain. Under Herman Noack’s current ownership, the foundry has settled into its new impressive indoor/outdoor footprint in Berlin Charlottenburg, near the River Spree. Understanding the trade challenges, he has broadened the foundry’s concept, adding the Gallery to actively promote artists’ works commercially, and a further outdoor sculpture garden is in the planning. With more space comes different opportunities to create cultural exchange, such as concerts and gallery lectures, providing educational value for the next generations. Another addition is the off-site, state-of-the-art restaurant and kitchen, offering communal dining and a favorite spot to nurture conversation over a chef-prepared meal.
The foundry’s exceptional work of active collaboration with its renowned artists, which continues into all facets of life, has always been its primary raison d’être, and in turn helps shape the field’s practice.
With Lisa and Sofia Noack stepping into view, the future of this workshop expands beyond inheritance – it becomes a dialogue, curiosity, and redefinition. It favors a naturally forming, human storytelling aspect in its interviewees and shows how growing up with art can become second nature in one’s relationship with it. It helps that their mother, Anna Bogouchevskaia, actively pursues her career as a sculptor, and family portraits often become momentous sculptures in their own right, or their habitat’s iconic art becomes the kids’ natural backdrop.
The film focuses less on Noack’s past, which includes epitomes of culture, such as Johann Gottfried von Schadow’s famed Quadriga, centered on the Brandenburg Gate memorial. Instead, it reveals that life with art at NOACK NEXT is vibrant and thriving, seamlessly blending into the modernity of contemporary life and culture with an almost unexpected timeless elegance.
To learn more about the director and the film, please visit this link.
Comentarios