The maelstrom is a tidal current between the Lofoten islands of Moskenesøy and Værøy in Norway, which forms due to strong water eddies. Like many writers, painters and filmmakers, the German draughtsman, painter and sculptor Adolf Buchleiter (1929-2000) was inspired by this natural phenomenon. The MAHLSTROM exhibition presents three of his expansive drawings, in which he has also devoted himself to the whirlpool of images in a formal way. In addition, artistically edited photographs from the series "Soldatenspiele" (Soldiers' Games) are shown, in which the omnipresent traumatization of soldiers in war appears.

Anyone standing in front of Buchleiter's triptych "Paradise is a polonaise" is challenged: You can't help but want to look very closely. The finest strokes, schematic repetitions and meticulous hatching in pencil and ink are combined over months of work to create monumental works. This speaks for his enormous capacity for imagination and abstraction. In his "Soldatenspiele" series, on the other hand, he processed war experiences that he had to gather as a teenager. It consists of 20 photographs that he developed himself and drew over with graphite, colored pencil and ballpoint pen.

Adolf Buchleiter, born in Heidelberg in 1929, completed an apprenticeship as a goldsmith and silversmith after attending school and went on to study at the Pforzheim School of Art and Design. From 1955 to 1958, he worked as an assistant to Prof. K.H. Wienert, which resulted in a teaching position in Pforzheim. At the same time, he worked for architects and in the jewelry industry and was successful in competitions. In 1961, Buchleiter was appointed as a lecturer in design theory at the Werkkunstschule Kassel, and in 1971 he became a full professor in the Department of Art at the University of Kassel.