Bistro Interieur No. 253

The Interieur No. 253 (2004 / 2012) by Anton Henning

During the course of the renovation of the station between 2000 and 2004, the Berlin artist Anton Henning received the commission to design the Bistro of the Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck. With the Interieur No. 253 he created a walkable and usable Gesamtkunstwerk. Henning has created similar works, for example in the exhibition hall Am Hawerkamp in Münster and in the Kunstmuseum Luzern.
For the Bistro Interieur No. 253 Anton Henning designed the bar counter, tables, lamps and seating units. The walls and tables in the bistros are based on geometric forms. Above these wall pictures, 15 paintings have been placed.

They show a wide range of different types of representation: still lifes, romantic representations of nature, nudes, portraits and abstract pictures. Henning's paintings quote artists of Classic Modernism such as Marcel Duchamp and Piet Mondrian. They also take up motifs of everyday and pop culture such as pin-ups, flower pictures and sunsets.

Extension of the Interieur No. 253

In 2012 Anton Henning extended the Interieur No. 253 with 24 colourful painted glass windows. This took place within the framework of the renovation and extension of the Bistro with a new building containing kitchens and multifunction rooms.

The glass windows are decorated with letter motifs and with geometric and free forms. They lend the room a colourful light mood, which creates a unique atmosphere when the sun is shining.

The artwork HaaH (2012)

During the renovation work in Interieur No. 253 Henning donated to the Arp Museum a new work entitled HaaH. This window artwork can be seen in the connecting corridor between the station building and the new kitchen building. For "HaaH" Anton Henning painted 124 glass windows with the initials of his name; in reverse order, his initials also correspond with the initials of Hans Arp.

Anton Henning was born in Berlin in 1964. He works in Berlin and Manker. His paintings, sculptures, videos and installations contain ironic references and art-historical quotations. His room installations, described as »Salons« and »Interieurs«, are walkable and usable and also include furniture which the artist himself has designed. His Gesamtkunstwerke question the bourgeois definition of »good taste«. Nonetheless, the spaces invited visitors to relax and spend some time.

Bistro Interieur No. 253 is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 11 am to 12 pm. Reservations may be made by telephone under Tel. 02228 - 911111 and by e-mail. You can visit the gastronomic facilities without purchasing an entrance ticket for the Arp Museum.