Inge Jastram

In the organizer's words:

Time drives me

To mark the start of the Artists and Perception exhibition series sponsored by the Ostdeutsche Sparkassenstiftung and the OSPA-Stiftung, the Kunsthalle Rostock is dedicating a first comprehensive retrospective to the renowned draughtswoman and printmaker Inge Jastram (*1934) on the occasion of her 90th birthday.

A life dedicated to art: Inge Jastram
Inge Jastram, born in Naumburg in 1934, initially trained as a seamstress before studying book graphics at the Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin under the renowned graphic artists Arno Mohr (1910-2001) and Werner Klemke (1917-1994). In 1958, she and her husband, the sculptor Jo Jastram (1928-2011), moved from Berlin to Rostock. The family later settled permanently in Kneese.
Inge Jastram created an impressive number of building-related works of art, including large-format gable designs and murals, both in Berlin and Rostock, in the field of tension between cultural-political guidelines and artistic individuality. At the same time, she worked as a graphic designer for major publishing houses and newspapers.

The reunification as an opportunity for artistic emancipation
After reunification, Inge Jastram initially found herself in a phase of disorientation: with the collapse of the state art system, her usual commissions also disappeared. She gradually emancipated herself from being a commercial artist to become a freelance artist and found a new dimension of artistic expression in etching, which made her an important artistic voice in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Focus on the human figure for seven creative decades
The human figure remains at the center of Inge Jastram's oeuvre to this day. Her free graphic works capture a broad spectrum of human experiences and emotions. Women, children, couples, artists and clowns populate her works. With impressive precision and a critical eye, she strives to capture her figures in their undisguised form - as individuals and social beings, moved by inner conflicts, timeless emotions and profound experiences. In this way, she inevitably captivates viewers and invites them to look behind the outer façade.

A retrospective as a contemporary document
The exhibition, directed by art historian Antje Schunke from the Kunsthalle Rostock and curated by art historian Christin Sobeck, traces the life and artistic work of Inge Jastram, whose development is closely linked to the political and social upheavals of the second half of the 20th century. It includes early works from Inge Jastram's student days, biographical documentation, reproductions of selected construction-related works and a large selection of free graphic works. These include large-format etchings in several parts, which impressively demonstrate her skills as a draughtswoman.

Women artists in the GDR at a double disadvantage
The exhibition project also aims to draw attention to the double disadvantage faced by female artists such as Inge Jastram after the fall of communism. In addition to the historical discrimination of women in art history, there was a further complication for female artists from the GDR: due to the collapse of the state art system and the controversy over images that flared up after reunification, for example through statements such as "There are no artists in the GDR" by Georg Baselitz, their artistic achievements were initially often discredited across the board by experts and initially received little attention.
The exhibition series "Women Artists and Perception" therefore aims to counteract this state of affairs and make the achievements of women artists in the past and present visible.


Promotion and support
The exhibition is part of a series of exhibitions presenting the work of female artists against the backdrop of current and GDR-era images of femininity. The series is generously sponsored by the Ostdeutsche Sparkassenstiftung in cooperation with the OSPA-Stiftung. The Kunsthalle Rostock gGmbH is supported by the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock, the Ministry of Science, Culture, Federal and European Affairs of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and by the association "Freunde der Kunsthalle Rostock e. V.", health partner: Klinikum Südstadt Rostock, cultural partner: NDR Kultur