Rest in Peace Margaret Raspé 1933—2023

We were struck on countless occasions by Raspé’s radicality, astuteness, sharp wit, and generosity of spirit that she displayed throughout her life. As a literal neighbor of the Haus am Waldsee, the whole team is grateful to have been able to work closely with her on the Automatik retrospective, which opened at the beginning of this year and introduced her work to a new generation. Her all-encompassing approach that she brings to the interconnection between art and life as well as her ongoing insights gained from over fifty years of work were essential to the conception of this exhibition. The enthusiasm of many local and international visitors and members of the press for this visionary body of work, which Raspé produced largely independently from the art market, was palpable. This summer the exhibition traveled to the Badischer Kunstverein and albeit from a distance, Margaret was intensively engaged with the installation process. The audience was impressed and many visitors, especially younger ones who were discovering Margaret Raspé's work for the first time, found it to be a revelation. Despite her already very frail health, Margaret ended the last phone call between Karlsruhe and Berlin with her characteristic humor and resoluteness: "Weitermachen! Weitermachen!”, which translates to something like keep on keeping on! The Deutsche Kinemathek worked closely with Margaret Raspé to digitally restore her groundbreaking Camera Helmet Films and other moving image works, which are now held in its archive and available to international audiences. The Kinemathek is thankful and proud of this intensive and fruitful collaboration with Raspé and are happy that she was able to experience a new wave of appreciation of her technically and thematically innovative films. Haus am Waldsee will host a book launch of the just-published exhibition catalogue Automatik at 4pm on December 17, 2023. The catalogue features a number of newly commissioned texts on Raspé’s work. We hope the event can also serve as a celebration of Margaret’s life and work. We are certain that Margaret Raspé’s pioneering work will continue to resonate for many years to come. She will be remembered for a radically self-reflexive oeuvre that is as imaginative as it is exacting, as generous as it is demanding. Galerie Molitor will represent the artist’s estate in collaboration with her daughters and is honored to steward her artistic legacy. An exhibition of Raspé’s work, conceived in close collaboration with the artist, will open at the gallery in Berlin in February 2024. Rest in peace, dear Margaret! Marie-Christine Molitor and Camila Barshee, Galerie Molitor Anna Gritz and the Haus am Waldsee Team Anja Casser, Yvonne Fomferra, Heidi Herzig and Hubert Distel, Badischer Kunstverein Rainer Rother, Anke Hahn and Elisa Jochum, Deutsche Kinemathek Berlin