Her paintings are statements, like the bird who perished after an oilspill. I would call Lucienne a political painter with deep emotions. I love the texture in her work and the variations on a theme. Roger Nupie held a fine introduction, brief, informative and to the point.
Jan is architect and my preferred partner to visit exhibitions. He doesn't only look at the objects shown but notices the relationships of the objects to their environment and comments on how they are placed. The statues on the black pedestals are by Kollwitz, those on the natural wood are by 19 contemporaries some working in different styles. Avant-garde as in the work of Jean Arp, piètas as the one by Ivan Mestovic' a sculptor whose work I have admired because of the large Prophet - preacher in Split in Croatia, Emiel Jespers, Zadkine....
Kathe
Kollwitz's son fell in Flanders fields on the first day of World War I. She then created the statue 'The grieving parents'. And spoke out against war and violence. Many of the pieces
shown at the Bream Pavilion in the Middelheim museum in Antwerp are
militant. The artists show us that war brings suffering, that it is
filled with mass and personal suffering. This composition of artists
and work shown is a true pacifist statement. I find the small statue with women and children wave at husbands and fathers who are going to war very moving. The women had to keep the family together, feed the children, work and make money... They also lost their jobs after the war because work was for returning soldiers in all war torn countries. I love the light in this pavilion. The war in sculptures is to me deeply moving and a fitting reminder to work for peace. Some sculptors created work in the trenches with the material the enemy fired at them applying all their craft to turn battle field objects into civilian objects. Another great exhibit at the Middelheim museum. 
Since some Native poetry would be read in its German translation, the artists decided upon the theme of 'wild animal meadow' since many of the artist had work with animals in them. Ralf Luttman made the Ostrich and got it finished in time. Claudia Sper was given a lot of animal pelts by a furrier and made tis tunning costume. Horst Weichbrodt made these ladies with flowers...
Many of these artist work with found objects, with land art, driftwood, tree trunks, clay, particle wood, cork and glass marbles to bring light in the work as Horst does.
The shortest photo exhibition ever was under the the tent: black and white digitally enhanced with crows in every picture. That is the trademark of HH Bergmann.
Musician singer songwriter Ilona Vildebrandt entertained us all with her heartfelt renderings of her songs. 
Having been on the road in North Rhine Westphalia I rediscover the world without Internet and the world of hyper security: not one open hot spot, nothing coming in on my phone... Yet a lot is happening there in the region where artists and writers seem to flock. A bunch of "mafia knitters" are trying to soften this rather masculine environment where the rogue TV policeman Schimanski had his job cut out in getting the bad guys. In wool with flowers and gentle colors they soften this place of steel and stone.
And of course water is abundant at the confluence of Rhine and Ruhr. It is a downtrodden area with cheap rent. The empty shop windows can be rented easily as a showplace for one's work. Of course there are improvised parties, people bringing food and drinks, grill on the roof in the old town. There is a proposal to classify Ruhrort as cultural heritage since many of the houses in 'Grunder style' still exist. Of course all the water most cellars are damp... On Easter Sunday among others these people will perform as poets or exhibit their art. I saw a beautiful cooperation where one hustled a tent ( there was a strong wind, but we were spared the rain), where another brought a small scene to stand on. Some brought enough food to share... I thank all. 
Horst sculpting is based on found objects, material along the banks of the Rhine or the Ruhr. He said: I work with cheap materials. yes, it is a kind of Arte Povera. The light effects in his work stem from incorporating glass marbles.
Sometimes the sculptures light is in one tone, sometimes the marbles are multicolored. Of course besides the poetry not only read in English but also in the German translation by Fred Schywek, there were didgeridoo players, really fun and a Kurdish trio and of course good musicians then tend to jam together: a extra treat. The audience would spill out on the sidewalk and look in... My favorite piece is the Crow.
