The artist museum in Offenbach celebrates its anniversary

• fromEast Tinç

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Ruben Talberg’s artist museum in Offenbach has existed for ten years.

Art museums are usually places where the works of people who have already died are exhibited. Places of conservation, seriousness. At least that’s how Ruben Talberg feels. His museum is the opposite of that. When people come into the house at Ludwigstrasse 157 in Offenbach, which opened ten years ago, a lively exchange takes place. “And the artist is still alive,” says the 57-year-old with a smile. There are only a few of these artist museums in Europe.

Almost twelve years ago, the German-Israeli, who was born in Heidelberg, bought the brick house, including the front and back gardens. The former carpenter’s workshop has become his production facility downstairs, his exhibition space on the ground floor and his office upstairs. His motivation for opening his own museum was, on the one hand, that his own art should far outlast him. On the other hand, he wanted to establish a Jewish museum with great appeal in the region and beyond.

Ruben Cornelis Talberg is a sculptor, painter, photographer and sees himself as an alchemist. He is a member of the Jewish community in Offenbach and, according to the Jewish Places website, is one of the ten most important living Jewish artists in the world. “I have a lot of Jewish clients from France, Spain and Italy,” reports Talberg. “Some of them then also become collectors.” Over 200 international collectors own works by him. In addition to smaller works, his trademark are the so-called manifolds, which can be seen in the permanent exhibition.

They are sculptures with many folds, as the English name suggests, which he produces with “alchemical ingredients in a twelve-step process.”

As a 20-year-old, Talberg discovered some life-size sculptures wrapped in tunic pleats in Bellagio, Italy. Standing there, he had a childhood déjà vu, wrapped in folds of soft fabric. “From that moment on I was obsessed with wrinkles.” In his life he wants to produce a total of 888 of these manifolds. 888, because the number in Chinese is considered an absolute lucky number. He doesn’t want to reveal exactly how many Talberg has produced to date. More than 100, he just says.

Finis Coronat Opus Magnum. The end crowns the great work. That is Talberg’s motto. “The manifolds are designed to slow the viewer down and slow down time,” he says. “The longer the viewer stands in front of it, the more the energies flow back and forth.” He works with art consultants who take, exhibit and sell his manifolds on trips around the world. He sells his works for prices between 30,000 and 50,000 euros.

The Talberg Museum is visited by a large number of people from Neuoffenbach and those interested in art. Although he does not do the tours himself, he is available for discussions. Over time, a circle of friends of the museum has established itself and the facility is supported by private civic engagement and art sales. To date, he has not received any public subsidies. This gives Ruben Talberg the freedom and independence he needs as an artist. With its own museum for a decade.

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