Fascinated by Art in the Underground

At the sculpture network Dialogue in Munich last Thursday, Lothar Schiffler shared his passion for art in the underground with us. In the course of his presentation he took us on a journey into the art world of subway stations in Europe and beyond. From Lisbon to Paris, Rome and Vienna as well as to Moscow, presenting us with an enormous variety of works of art ranging from sculptures between the tracks, artfully crafted tiles and larger-than-life comics to archaeological discoveries and rabbits that are late.

Prior to this evening hardly anyone of those present had been aware of the huge diversity of art which is present in subways worldwide.
 
Inspired by Lothar Schiffler’s pictures and impressions we then ventured into the Munich subway system. The head of the Munich municipal construction department Ralf Wulf, and the architect Manfred Rossiwal-Jespersen, explained the difficulties involved in the selection process for the artworks and informed us about the challenges which need to be met in the construction of underground railway stations (the non-architects among us probably heard about the diaphragm wall construction method for the first time).

Although most of those present use the subway almost every day, we saw the stations in a completely different light during the evening and were fascinated by the complex works on the walls and ceilings!

This is why we to invite you to share the underground art in your city with us! Follow us on Instagram to see what we have discovered and will continue to find in Munich. Show us where you are travelling underground and what the #artinunderground looks like in your city – or wherever you happen to be this summer!