With the exhibition "Ernst Gamperl. The Tree of Life Project", the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (MK&G) is dedicating a comprehensive presentation to one of the most important contemporary wood designers. As part of the Contemporary Craft exhibition series, which has been presenting international craftspeople and artists since 2022, the museum will be showing a work that is both moving and fascinating in its poetic power and formal radicalism from November 22, 2025 to April 26, 2026.

The centerpiece is a 230-year-old oak tree that was uprooted during a storm in Rott am Inn, Bavaria, in 2008. Instead of ending up as dead wood, the monumental tree trunk became the starting point for a unique art project: around 100 vessels and objects were created from the 33-ton colossus over the course of ten years. Gamperl not only expanded his workshop for this project, but also developed new tools and lathes to artistically process the enormous trunk.
Gamperl's artistic approach is characterized by a respectful dialogue with the material. He sees wood not as a dead raw material, but as a living partner. He does not see cracks, irregularities and traces of growth as flaws, but as an expression of the "elemental force" that he makes visible in the shapes of his vessels. These range from archaic and monumental to almost floating and light. Surface treatments with lime or iron oxide give the objects an unmistakable feel and depth.

Ernst Gamperl, left: 39/2016//230, 2016, right: 40/2016//230, 2016, photo: Bernhard Spöttel, © Ernst Gamperl

The exhibition is accompanied by the documentary film Ernst Gamperl - Dialogue with Wood by Niklas Goslar, which vividly shows how precision craftsmanship and artistic intuition intertwine in Gamperl's work.
Born in Munich in 1965, the self-taught master woodturner has received numerous awards, including the Bavarian and Hessian State Prize and the renowned Loewe Foundation Craft Prize (2017). With the Tree of Life project, he has created an oeuvre that goes far beyond craftsmanship: a manifesto for sustainability, for the dignity of nature and for the close connection between man and material.
With this presentation, the MK&G shows how powerfully contemporary arts and crafts can enrich the discourse between tradition, innovation and social relevance.
November 22, 2025 to April 26, 2026
www.mkg-hamburg.de