Bodo Kampmann: Bildhauer und Goldschmied

In the organizer's words:

With the exhibition "Bodo Kampmann: Sculptor and Goldsmith", the Städtisches Museum Braunschweig would like to thank Mrs. Karoline Kampmann. In the autumn of 2024, Mrs. Kampmann donated an extensive collection of goldsmith's works as well as sculptures and applied art works by her father to the museum, adding important facets to the museum's collection of works by Bodo Kampmann, which has been compiled since the 1960s.

The opening of the cabinet exhibition will take place on July 2, 2025 at 6 p.m. in the Haus am Löwenwall and is open to the public. The author Bärbel Mäkeler will give a keynote speech.
We look forward to your visit!

Bodo Kampmann ((Wuppertal-) Elberfeld 1913 - 1978 Bad Gandersheim) is a sculptor who has shaped the cityscape of Braunschweig like few others. His works include the caller on the Magnikirche church, the cockerel on the spire of the Petrikirche church, the Justitia on the justice building on Domplatz, the abstract depiction of a mother-to-be in the municipal women's clinic on Cellerstraße, the supraporte of the vocational school on Blasiusstraße (formerly the Ina-Seidel-Schule) depicting a chariot race and the plaques of the renowned Krahe Prize of the city of Braunschweig for architecture. Less well known is his work as a silversmith, jewelry designer or as a designer for porcelain manufactories.
Bodo Kampmann grew up in an artistically inspiring environment - his parents Walter (1887-1945) and Frieda, née Fuchs (1890-1933) had met while studying at the School of Arts and Crafts in (Wuppertal-) Elberfeld. Walter and his younger brother Alexander worked as visual artists, their grandfather Wilhelm Kampmann as a music director.
Bodo Kampmann trained as a metal sculptor and goldsmith at the Berlin Art Academy. After the end of the Second World War, in which he was drafted as a soldier, he moved to Innsbruck with his family - in 1936 he had married his fellow student, the goldsmith Sheila Diederich (1911-1998). There Kampmann worked as a freelance sculptor and set designer for theater and film. There he also met his second wife, the painter Gerhild Diesner (1915-1995), whom he married after divorcing Sheila in 1949.
In 1954, Bodo Kampmann, who had since divorced again, was offered a teaching position at the Braunschweig Werkkunstschule, from which today's Hochschule der Bildenden Künste (HBK) emerged. Here he taught metal sculpture and design and was appointed professor in 1963. Kampmann created stage sets for the Staatstheater, as he had already done in Innsbruck.
Bodo Kampmann was a master of the various techniques of metalworking. The choice of material, whether silver, gold, copper or bronze, was made according to the task at hand, taking into account the specific properties of the material. Cast and hammered works stand side by side on an equal footing. He knew how to create convincing works in both small and large, even monumental formats. The mostly figurative works show a tendency towards abstraction. This gives his sculptures and reliefs an almost timeless, classical appearance.
In contrast to his sculptural work, Bodo Kampmann's work as a silversmith and jewelry designer is hardly known, as his bowls, cups, brooches and rings were mainly designed and made for family and close friends.

Price information:

Admission: Adults € 5.00 Reduced admission (for pupils, students, trainees, people with disabilities, pensioners and holders of the "Braunschweig Pass") € 2.50 Children from 6 - 16 years € 2.00 School classes and children up to 6 years Free admission Now new: MuseumsCard - seven museums for € 22! The Municipal Museum is also included. For 22 euros, you get free admission once and permanently reduced admission on subsequent visits for one year to the seven largest museums in Braunschweig.