An exhibition about marginality as a mindset: not away from the center, but toward a different perspective.
From October 3 to 11, 2026, WERK LAAGE invites you to the exhibition “Art Today 2026 – Off the Beaten Path Is Also a Place.”
A site-specific exhibition of contemporary art is taking shape in a former lactose factory. The historic industrial site will not merely serve as an exhibition space, but will itself become an integral part of the artistic experience. Visitors will move through different areas: from the outdoor space, through a land art trail and the entrance area, into the main room, and on to a separate room for readings and collages.
The focus is on the question of what becomes visible when one steps away from the familiar perspective. “Off the Beaten Path” does not refer to an unimportant place. It denotes an area beyond the expected—a quiet path, a peripheral zone, a gap, a transition, or a place that reveals its significance only at second glance.
The exhibition begins outdoors. A land art trail leads visitors past several stations to the building and into the exhibition. Six outdoor stations are planned, designed using natural materials that can be experienced directly. Materials used include wood, soil, clay, roots, grasses, and stones. The works engage with the site, the architecture, and the traces of the former industrial site.
Inside, five central works are on display. Sculptures, installations, and site-specific compositions explore form, material, weight, surface, boundaries, and change. In the process, raw, natural, and artificial materials come together. Wood, stone, earth, clay, plant structures, and shaped materials are not used decoratively but are understood as independent artistic elements.
The works are not intended as traditional decoration. They invite viewers to look more closely: at interstices, breaks, transitions, irregularities, and seemingly incidental details. The imperfect, the marginal, and the overlooked take on a presence of their own.
WERK LAAGE does not see itself as an ordinary gallery space. The exhibition thrives on the contrast between the clear, at times dark industrial architecture and the strategically placed points of light, forms, and materials. The space is not completely covered or clad. Its size, height, traces, and original function remain perceptible.
The exhibition is complemented by a separate section dedicated to literature and collage. There, the exhibition expands to include a linguistic and visual dimension. A reading with Manja Lemke as well as contributions from the field of collage are planned.
“Off the Beaten Path Is Also a Place” is aimed at anyone who wants not only to view contemporary art but also to experience it spatially. The exhibition appeals to art enthusiasts, people involved in installation, sculpture, land art, and material art, as well as visitors who wish to discover unusual cultural venues and new artistic perspectives.
WERK LAAGE presents art not in a neutral “white cube,” but in a former industrial building with its own history and atmosphere. The exhibition combines contemporary art, land art, architecture, literature, and the immediate impact of materials and space.
We cordially invite you to visit WERK LAAGE, immerse yourself in the exhibition route, and discover the works from different perspectives.
KUNST HEUTE 2026
Off the beaten path is also a place
October 3–11, 2026
WERK LAAGE
Bahnhofstraße 13a
18299 Recknitzstadt Laage
Admission and exact opening hours will be announced in due time.