The “Art x Engineering” exhibition opened with a vernissage on October 12, 2026, at the Rüsselsheim Campus of Hochschule RheinMain – University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSRM). Rüsselsheim-based artist Inge Besgen is providing the Faculty of Engineering with eight large-format works of art on permanent loan. The works will be on display in the faculty’s buildings and will thus be part of the daily university life of students, faculty, and staff.
Curiosity as a Unifying Element
In her welcoming remarks, Prof. Dr. Eva Waller, President of HSRM, emphasized that the works do not simply hang on the walls but enter into a dialogue with their new surroundings: “The art does not merely adapt to the building; rather, it will change the way we view this place.”
The exhibition invites visitors to perceive familiar spaces from a new perspective and to discover connections between art, materials, and technology. “Here, art and Engineering now meet not as opposites. They meet through something that is essential to both: curiosity,” said Prof. Dr. Eva Waller.
Material Becomes a Design Element
Maximilian Dünkel of Motorworld Rüsselsheim, who handles the administration of Inge Besgen’s works, also welcomed the guests. Following the opening remarks, professor Rüdiger Pichler guided the guests through the exhibition and introduced Inge Besgen’s works.
This also highlighted the connection to Engineering questions: experimentation and transformation characterize Inge Besgen’s artistic work. Iron and rust, oxidation, tire tracks, chemical processes, cracks, and relief-like surfaces are central elements of her work. The artist explores the properties of materials and has a goal of setting processes in motion.
The Artist Inge Besgen
Inge Besgen was born in 1931 in Ingelheim am Rhein and has lived and worked in Rüsselsheim for many decades. From 1981 to 1985, she studied painting and graphic arts at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. In 2022, she donated approximately 3,500 works to Motorworld Rüsselsheim. This donation comes with the mandate to preserve her extensive artistic oeuvre in its entirety, make it accessible for research, and share it with future generations through exhibitions.
