Renate Hammond is the founder of room for humour, a visual arts project specialising in the representation of humour in contemporary art. 

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Virtual Tour

ACH MENSCH!
Caricature Exhibition at the Stadttheater Fürth

Opening (Vernissage):
Sunday, September 28, 2025 at 11:00 o'clock

Introduction: Anna Schwarm, cultural manager and journalist

Four renowned artists from the field of caricature – Georg Baier, Gerhard Fuchs, Anjo Haase, and Anton Hantschel – come together in a joint exhibition to showcase their latest works.

With fine lines, sharp wit, and a keen eye for current events, they explore human flaws, social absurdities, and political issues – pointed, thought-provoking, and humorous.

An invitation to smile, reflect, and marvel.
Experience the wide spectrum of illustrated commentary on the state of humanity – right in the heart of Fürth.

Venue: Stadttheater Fürth
Königstraße 116, 90762 Fürth
Tel: +49 (0)911 - 974 24 10

Exhibition Dates: September 28 – November 4, 2025

Visiting Hours:
The exhibition can be viewed 30 to 60 minutes before performances begin
or by appointment with:

Art-Agency Hammond
Tel: +49 (0)911 - 77 07 27
Email: aah@art-agency-hammond.de

Vernissage Speech by Anna Schwarm

Vernissage “Ach Mensch” – at the Fürth City Theatre on September 28, 2025

“ACH!”
“Ach Mensch!” – one feels compelled to exclaim these days upon opening the daily newspaper, scrolling through a web browser, clicking through so-called social networks, or watching the moving images in the news.

“Ach Mensch! What were you thinking? Were you even thinking? What exactly... are you doing?”
Such a heartfelt “ACH!” conveys the emotional weight we feel when we would rather not look more closely—or when we simply surrender to something that seems inevitable.

It’s this meaningful little word, “Ach,” that no classical drama can do without. Not in Antigone, not in Hamlet.
“Take it for all in all: Ach!”—a line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. An exclamation meant to express that existence itself—the human being and the world as a whole—is full of contradictions we must endure, whether we want to or not.

But how?
How are we supposed to endure it all?

Well, you might just find one or two answers here today, on the walls of the foyer and balconies of the Fürth City Theatre...

So: Good morning, and thank you for deciding to spend this morning diving a little deeper—through the lens of the vernissage “Ach Mensch!”—into the all-too-human side of our zeitgeist, with a wink, of course.

Here you’ll find works by Georg Baier, Gerhard Fuchs, Anjo Haase, and Anton Hantschel—four very different artists with unique styles, a sharp sense of situational humor, and clear messages. Together, they offer a meaningful counterbalance to that resigned “ACH.”

And thus, they fit perfectly into this year’s theme of the Fürth City Theatre: “Together.Ness” (Zusammen.Halt). Because their art contributes to this ideal in the best possible way: drawn snapshots and expressive images that encourage reflection, make us feel seen—or even caught out—and, at the same time, offer bridges across the madness of everyday life:
Whether through the relief of exaggeration or a shared laugh as a strategy for coping.

Because wherever people laugh, wonder, recognize, or even laugh heartily together—there is still hope.

Georg Baier casts a revealing eye on the often monstrous present.
“Human beings have never lived entirely peacefully together,” he says, “but current world events affect everyone.”

His focus: authorities and conformists in tension with the individual. His works develop like a diary—directly from everyday life. Baier follows his own moods and reflects them in surreal figures—images of a distorted society. These pieces speak for themselves but also gain deeper meaning through their arrangement—especially here in this exhibition.

Whatever strikes him becomes material: a quote from current politics, a bizarre ad slogan, or a loud headline. From a single phrase, the picture emerges. Exaggeration and distortion are his tools of choice. Sometimes, the original phrase disappears entirely in the process. The image takes over. Something completely new may arise—and the emotions conveyed often prove inescapable for the viewer.

Alongside the works in the foyer entrance area, you'll find more of Baier’s large-format pieces upstairs on the second balcony to the right. The room is almost dystopian. Here, Baier shines a light on questions of meaning, selfhood, and existence itself.
“The catharsis comes later,” the artist promises.

Gerhard Fuchs draws inspiration from human relationships. A cartoonist both early and late in life, he now devotes himself fully to his passion since entering retirement: caricatures in image and word—predominantly in his native Franconian dialect.

Over the past eight years, he has created around 700 caricatures using ink and brush pens. His signature style features all-too-human scenes in red and black that never fail to provoke a smile. They explore relationships between man and woman, politics and people, Nuremberg and Fürth—or even from an animal's point of view.

He also enjoys playful absurdities: like replacing a desired stomach reduction with a brain enlargement instead.

More recently, current politics have taken center stage. His “Fränggisch schbrachlous” series—sometimes in black-and-white, sometimes colorful—often speaks volumes without commentary.
“These are the issues that leave me personally speechless and perplexed,” Fuchs says: the societal shift to the right, warmongering, and the loud silence of the masses (conformism). These drawings go deep and are meant to provoke thought.

Anton Hantschel, too, often works without words. His protagonists—stereotypes and fantastical creatures—speak for themselves in mixed media, ink, colored pencil, or graphite.
Every now and then, a line of text sneaks in—on a T-shirt, for example—and never without reason.
Interpretation is encouraged.

A trained graphic designer, Hantschel spins stories of human existence in all its shades—tragic and joyful. The often surreal images offer deep insights into what it means to be human. At first glance, his works may seem lighthearted, but a second look reveals disturbances that demand deeper reflection.

There’s the tie-wearing “Lehmann Bros” sweating in their bubble, while “Nettoman” grabs another handful of cheap chips. A “Yes” collides with “Dr. No,” and “Maybe” meets a face full of resolve.
Together.NESS looks in very different directions here.

And the “stubborn head” on the second balcony resists you—mounted defiantly on a soft cork wall.

Hantschel’s character studies reveal the fractured self, the raw human being—often entangled with fantastical elements. He uncovers what lies beneath the surface—or embeds it deeper into the image itself, as in the piece “Before and Behind” (Davor und Dahinter).

Anjo Haase, in contrast, is quite wordy.
Driven by a desire for enlightenment—rendered in reduced black and white—he creates weekly comic strips featuring the Swabian housewife Mrs. Kermle, and the world-savers Mr. Müller and his neighbor Egon. Through them, he doesn’t just explain the world to others—he tries to make sense of it for himself.

Out of a single question, he distills panel after panel until he arrives at a punchline. Sometimes he puts his finger on the wound; sometimes he unmasks everyday absurdities. His aim? More openness, especially regarding difficult political topics like the intergenerational contract, sustainability, rearmament, right-wing extremism, or artificial intelligence.
But he also turns his gaze on more mundane things—like train travel or missions to Mars.

Above all, he questions the so-called progress of humanity—also known as evolution.
And sometimes, despite the irony, the laughter catches in your throat. After all, there’s a reason the time between 100-year floods is shrinking...

Haase doesn’t confine his educational mission to the drawing board.
He even frees his characters from the panels—turning them into audio plays or animated films.
Currently, his puppet theater cabaret titled “The Forecasts of the Economic Experts and Other Nonsense” can be seen at the Keltscher Klup on Lessingstrasse. Next performance: October 18.

Of course, I can only give you a small taste of what these artists have to offer.
But that’s exactly why we’re here today:
So that you can take a closer look at the variety and richness of these four exceptional artists for yourself.

With that, I wish you a fascinating journey of discovery—just follow the walls!

And thank you—very much—for your kind attention.

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