breaking out at the Old Prison Freising: Sculpture and Painting in Dialogue

Breaking out as an artistic movement: Hartmut Fenge and Elsa Nietmann at the Old Prison Freising

In the Old Prison Freising, a historic site meets an exhibition that carries its title with remarkable precision: breaking out. The group exhibition by Hartmut Fenge and Elsa Nietmann opens from August 1 to August 9, 2026, creating a space for examining works, aesthetic experience, and the productive crossing of boundaries between form, color, and material.

A place full of history, a theme full of tension

The Old Prison is not a neutral exhibition space. Its architecture, its past, and its close connection to Freising's city history give the exhibition a unique atmosphere. Here, the title unfolds a dual meaning: as a breakout from architectural as well as inner limitations, as a movement out of routines, certainties, and familiar modes of seeing.

Elsa Nietmann: Wood sculpture between body, structure, and movement

Elsa Nietmann works as a sculptor with sawn wood sculptures, in which movement is not only represented but experienced as a principle of form. Her artistic practice starts from self-perception and condenses observation, rhythm, and tension into plastic structures. Wood here appears not merely as a material but as a carrier of energy, rhythm, and change. Thus, a sculpture emerges that is close to the body and remains open to poetic interpretation.

Hartmut Fenge: Painting in the border area

Hartmut Fenge moves with his painting between figurativeness and abstraction. Lines and areas enter into a quiet but intense dialogue, contours become denser, color fields are reduced, spatial transitions become visible. His works appear like thinking movements on canvas and paper: precise, focused, and open to intermediate spaces. Those who engage with it experience painting as a school of perception and as an invitation to read space anew.

Art experience with educational depth

The exhibition combines artistic quality with cultural education. For art enthusiasts, it opens access to two independent positions that question material, form, and perception differently but complementarily. Especially in the context of a historical building, this creates a multifaceted art experience that intertwines art history, contemporary art, and local memory.

Vernissage, opening hours, and visit

The vernissage takes place on Friday, July 31, 2026, at 7 PM. The exhibition can be seen from August 1 to August 9, 2026. It is open each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 2 to 6 PM. A visit in the afternoon is particularly appealing when light, space, and work unfold a concentrated presence in the Old Prison.

Conclusion: An exhibition for curious eyes and open senses

breaking out is an exhibition for people who want to experience art not only by viewing but also by feeling its impact. Hartmut Fenge and Elsa Nietmann present two different, highly sensitive positions between sculpture and painting that resonate extraordinarily in the Old Prison Freising. Anyone who appreciates aesthetic experience, materiality, and spatial tension should experience this exhibition live.

Official channels of Hartmut Fenge and Elsa Nietmann:

• Instagram: no official profile found
• Facebook: no official profile found
• YouTube: no official profile found
• Website Hartmut Fenge: http://www.hartmutfenge.de
• Website Elsa Nietmann: https://www.elsanietmann.de

Sources:

• City of Freising – Cultural Program
• City of Freising – Culture & Leisure
• Old Prison Freising – History and Building
• Tourism Freising – Our Tips for Your Visit to Freising
• Tourism Freising – Exhibition Venues in the Old Town
• Freising News – Old Prison Freising
• Münchenarchitektur – Elsa Nietmann
• artig e.V. – Supporting Structures by Elsa Nietmann
• Fink Magazine – Hartmut Fenge in an Artist Portrait Issue