The Klingspor Museum's collection is going on tour and showing selected works in Cheongju. The South Korean city is the printing location of the oldest book printed with movable type, the Jikji. On the occasion of the annual Jikji Festival, the city recently invited members of the International Association of Printing Museums (IAPM) to apply for an exhibition in Cheongju. Lord Mayor Dr. Felix Schwenke emphasizes the great appreciation that the choice of the Klingspor Museum means for the city of Offenbach: "I am very pleased that works from the Klingspor Museum's collection will be on display in South Korea. This is further proof of the reputation that our Offenbach museum also enjoys internationally".
The former director of the Klingspor Museum, Dr. Stefan Soltek, who is also chairman of the Association of European Printing Museums (AEPM), has been in personal contact with the Early Printing Museum Cheongju since 2016. The cooperation agreement was signed at the beginning of May during a visit by a Korean delegation.
The exhibition gives the Klingspor Museum the opportunity to showcase central collection items in East Asia for the first time. 61 exhibits present the unique holdings of the Museum of Modern Book and Type Art. Two chapters focus on works created in Offenbach. The work of the type foundry Gebr. Klingspor plays a central role. The company, which had a decisive influence on type design around 1900 with typefaces by Otto Eckmann and Peter Behrens, enjoyed a worldwide reputation. The chapter "Book Art of the 1920s" also focuses on works from Offenbach, with works from the Offenbach School and "Rudolphine Prints", demonstrating the importance of the city for book and type art in the first half of the 20th century. It was above all Rudolf Koch who exerted a decisive influence as a typeface artist, type designer and teacher. Precious painters' and artists' books round off the presentation and span a multifaceted arc from classical modernism to contemporary book art. Works by Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, HAP Grieshaber and Adrian Frutiger are on display. The contemporary artist's book, which is a focal point of the museum's collection, is represented with works by Robert Schwarz and Anja Harms, among others.
The exhibition entitled "In Honor of Korea", which can be seen at the Culture Factory Cheonju from 2 September to 16 October 2022, shows the breadth of the collection from its historical core to the lively contemporary book art scene. Cheongju and Offenbach are of great importance for the history of printing, Cheongju for printing with movable type, Offenbach for lithography. The exhibition, the opening of which will be accompanied by museum director Dr. Dorothee Ader and a delegation from the museum, aims to connect the two cities and further deepen the friendship, in the conviction that the art of printing will continue to play a significant role in culture in the future.