Rolf Nesch, Nadira Husain, Ahmed Umar: Ingraining and Unfolding

The exhibition focuses on prints and relief works by Rolf Nesch (1893–1975) from the collection of the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart. These enter into dialogue with works by contemporary artists Nadira Husain (b. 1980) and Ahmed Umar (b. 1988). All three share experiences of migration, which are reflected in the motifs and visual language of their works.

Rolf Nesch, originally from Oberesslingen, emigrates to Norway in 1933 as an opponent of National Socialism. His formal language undergoes a fundamental transformation under the influence of Nordic nature, culture, and people. The work of the Indian-Basque-French artist Nadira Husain also bears witness to transcultural movements and reflections on the cultural identity of a post-migrant second generation. Ahmed Umar flees political persecution in Sudan and comes to Norway to live a self-determined life as a queer artist in harmony with his spiritual and cultural roots.

OPENING
Fri, November 11, 2025, 7pm
Free admission

Rolf Nesch (1893–1975)

Rolf Nesch attends the Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden. After spending time studying with Ernst Ludwig Kirchner in Frauenkirch near Davos, he begins experimenting with printmaking. Before his emigration in 1933, he develops a particular metal printing technique, using soldered metal pieces affixed to the plate. In Norway, he expands this practice further, ultimately resulting in three-dimensional material images. His preoccupation with the country and its culture, his fascination with Nordic landscapes and stories, but also his experiences of exile and adapting to new living conditions characterize Nesch’s work. From 1960 to the mid-1980s, the Galerie der Stadt Stuttgart acquires almost 90 works by the artist. Works from the collection of the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart and loans from national and international lenders offer an insight into his transmedial, cross-cultural oeuvre. Rolf Nesch is today considered one of Norway’s most important artists.

Nadira Husain (*1980)

After studying art at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Nadira Husain moves to Berlin. In her expansive, unfolding paintings and installations, she explores themes such as post-migration, transculturality, and cultural hybridity. She uses traditional craft techniques and integrates textiles and ceramics into her practice. By drawing on symbols and narratives from different cultures that are linked to her own biographical background, she creates multilayered pictorial compositions. These form a dense web of references to Indo-Persian Mughal painting, European comic figures, and elements of Sufism. At the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, the artist presents new works embedded within a site-specific wall painting.

Ahmed Umar (*1988)

The Sudanese-born artist and LGBTQIA+ activist Ahmed Umar flees to Norway in 2008 due to political persecution. There, he studies printmaking as well as medium- and material-based art at the National Academy of the Arts in Oslo until 2016. His artistic practice is characterized by a continuous engagement with and exploration of new materials, as well as the transformation of found objects. At the same time, his work reflects the inner conflict of an individual caught between traditional gender roles, religious devotion, and the pursuit of self-determination. Umar openly identifies as queer and sees himself as a political artist. With this exhibition, the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart is presenting Ahmed Umar’s work in Germany for the first time.