25.04.2026 – VERNISSAGE: Otto von Kotzebue – A journey

Dear friends of art,

This year, the Munich-based artist Otto von Kotzebue (1936–2022) would have celebrated his 90th birthday. We would like to take this opportunity to reflect once more on the work of this outstanding painter with the exhibition “Eine Reise” (“A Journey”).

Since his first exhibition at our gallery in 2012, a close working relationship and a deep friendship have developed between the artist and the gallery owners. In addition to two major solo exhibitions, Otto was also featured in four group exhibitions, thus becoming a cornerstone of our gallery.

This exhibition therefore serves as a tribute to his artistic oeuvre, showcasing both well-known and previously unseen works. Otto von Kotzebue’s signature style is landscape painting, which he rendered on canvas in atmospheric colours and moods, using both watercolours and oil paints. In addition to Italy, his home for a time, the artist repeatedly felt a deep connection to both America and Russia, countries he continued to visit well into his old age and whose spirit he skilfully allows the viewer to experience through the eyes of an architect and with the heart of a poet.

“…the misty, William Turner-esque moods of this painting are matched by the fresco-like application of paint, smudged across the canvas, whose subtle luminosity is reminiscent of Impressionist painting.
Kotzebue’s vedute appear ethereal, dreamlike, as if lying behind a veil, and present silhouettes of figures and hints of perspective that maintain an ironic and romantic distance from the optimism of the ‘American Dream’.” Wolfgang Sauré, Weltkunst, 1 December 1996

We invite you to accompany Otto on this journey and to experience the stages of his life through his eyes.

Don’t miss the pre-exhibition concert at 15:30 h featuring Georg Brinkmann on the clarinet and Marc Jaquet on the piano, who will set the scene for this journey with music by J. Horovitz, A.M. Smith, C. Grandval and F. Aubine! Further information and seat reservations can be found here.

Tip: If you’d like to find out more about the famous ancestor of the artist and dramaturge August von Kotzebue, don’t miss the reading by Dieter E. Neuhaus (in German), accompanied by a concert on a fortepiano by Urte Lucht, on 9 May 2026! You can find further information about the event here.

Exhibition duration: 25.04. – 11.07.2026
Wednesdays and Saturdays from 14:00 to 18:00 (on concert days until 17:00)

25. April 2026

Musikstudio & Galerie: Gabriele Paqué
Blücherstraße 14
53115 Bonn

Gallery open from 15:00 h.

15:30 h: Concert

Georg Brinkmann (clarinet) and Marc Jaquet (piano) present works by A. M. Smith, C. Grandval, F. Aubine and J. Horovitz

Admission: 20,- €
For more information and to register for the concert, click here.

17:00 h: Opening of the exhibition.

Opening address by art historian Gudrun von Schoenebeck, M.A.
A welcome address from the gallery owners and the artist’s family