It is the last opportunity for local art lovers to see the works of this former student of Joseph Beuys in the Algarve. Föll lived in Olhão from 2016 to 2023 with the artist and dance therapist Nada Mandelbaum. Föll died here in his adopted home at the age of 74 from the effects of cancer. The years in Portugal were among his most productive. Around 200 works were created during this time.

The exhibition, entitled "obras descobertas - discovered works," was curated by Föll's partner and artistic companion, Nada Mandelbaum. It features never-before-seen works that Nada Mandelbaum discovered in Ernst Föll's estate only after his death.


Exhibition: "obras descobertas - discovered works"

Where: O Corpo da Dança – Olhão, Rua Capitão João Carlos Mendonça 23

Running until 31 May, 2025

Opening hours: Thursday – Saturday, 3:30 p.m. – 6 p.m. and by appointment at 965755769

Contact: nadamandelbaum@icloud.com; +351 965755769

About the artist

Ernst Föll was a master student of Joseph Beuys at the Düsseldorf Art Academy from 1970 to 1974. Föll was one of the students who occupied the secretariat with Beuys in 1972 to protest against the rejection of students due to the prevailing admission procedures and the limited numerus clausus. Following Joseph Beuys's dismissal by the then Minister of Science, Johannes Rau, he headed Beuys's class until 1974. In the same year, he was appointed master student. In the following years, he worked as an art educator, architect, and designer. He also organized workshops and exhibitions for the Free International University (FIU), founded by Beuys together with Klaus Staeck, Georg Meistermann, and Willi Bongard, which advocated for the fundamental reform of the educational system.

His artistic companions included Blinky Palermo, Hugo Kückelhaus, Stephan Stüttgen, Donald Judd, Johannes Stüttgen, and Ansgar Nierhoff. Föll's works became widely known in various group exhibitions in Paris, New York, Frankfurt am Main, Bielefeld, and Paderborn.

Since 2016, Föll has lived and worked with the artist Nada Mandelbaum in the fishing town of Olhão on the Algarve in Portugal. His years in Portugal are among his most productive. He created around 200 works during this time. This is also where his last major cycle, "Splitterstücke," was created. A predominantly geometric style predominates in the approximately 60 works, characterized by the cutting and joining process. "This resulted in ever-new compositional collages that could be described, among other things, as free color tones that provoke countless wanderings in the eye of the beholder," explained Föll.

Under the quote "If the heart could think, it would stand still" from Fernando Pessoa's "The Book of Disquiet," Nada Mandelbaum and Ernst Föll showed photographs and works on paper in 2019 against the impressive backdrop of the Roman Villa Milreu near Estoi. In 2020, Ernst Föll held an exhibition entitled "An Interdisciplinary Dialogue" at the Museu Municipal de Faro. In the Beuys Year 2021, he thrilled audiences with the exhibition "Dialogo Interdisciplinary Arte – Espaço – Arquitetura" at the Cultural Center in Lagos. Also in 2021, he hosted a well-attended commemorative exhibition at his home in Olhão to mark the 100th birthday of his teacher Joseph Beuys. In August 2023, he showed his most recent works in Olhão under the title "Splitterstücke 2021–2023."

In winter 2024, the Olhão Municipal Library (Biblioteca Municipal de Olhão José Mariano Gago) honored the artist's work, created in Portugal, with an exhibition entitled "O Centauro de Olhão."