Walter Reinhardt would have been 90 years old on October 19, 2022. The almost immeasurable oeuvre of this unusual artist was only reappraised and categorized after his death in 2011. It provides an insight into Reinhardt's world of thought and his artistic drive: surrealist visions, idiosyncratic outsider art, Far Eastern religions, dark poetry - Reinhardt mixed everything into an idiosyncratic formal language that tells of the fun of fabulation, but also of doubts and excesses.

Reinhardt designed restaurant interiors, illustrated cookbooks and designed menus. His pictures were presented in regional exhibitions. The earliest works shown in the exhibition date from the 1970s, the time of the jazz pub, which was also used as a gallery. They incorporate impressions from his numerous travels, such as Eastern drawing and painting techniques and mandalas, as well as mystical ideas. Much of the work is ornamental. Interpretations of art-historical works, but also redesigned magical symbols can be recognized.

In the early 1980s, the forerunners of the "Pötze" appear in Reinhardt's work: They are small, pointed figures with characteristic physiognomies. They have animal and human features and are often provided with small, mostly witty descriptions. Often only the size of a postcard, drawn and colored with a few strokes, these figures become Reinhardt's vehicles for expressing his own wishes, doubts, criticism, hopes and dreams - his trademark.

Information about the exhibition:

The exhibition will open on Tuesday, December 13, at 7 p.m. in the Tillyhaus in Salzgitter-Bad (Marienplatz 12). Peter Jürgen Schneider, former Finance Minister of Lower Saxony, will speak about Walter Reinhardt's work.

The works can be seen until January 29. Opening hours are Thursdays from 2 to 6 pm and Sundays from 1 to 5 pm. Guided tours are available by appointment (further information can be found in the municipal events calendar.