Frisbee ! Sport and Leisure. Würth Collection

The Musée Würth presents the exhibition Frisbee! Sports and Leisure. Würth Collection from January 27 to September 15, 2024.

Free admission for everyone.

Opening times:

  • Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm
  • Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm

Guided tours on Sunday:

A guided tour of the exhibition in French is offered every Sunday at 2:30 pm.

Les Loisirs by Cubist painter Fernand Léger (1881-1955), was created 80 years ago. It has been the inspiration for the Musée Würth in Erstein to get into the spirit of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, due to be held in Paris in Summer 2024. From 27 January to 15 September, the exhibition Frisbee! reflects the extent to which sports, games and leisure time have been part of consumer society since the 1950s. It also shows how they have provided fertile ground for artistic creativity, enchanting and challenging artists to represent the athlete’s body and capture movement.

Despite being marked by two World Wars, the 20th century witnessed a revolutionary transformation in Western lifestyles. From the end of the 19th century, sport truly became accessible to all. During the Belle Époque, Paris enjoyed huge technological advances, which were showcased at the 1900 Universal Exhibition, and triggered an unprecedented appetite for leisure and recreation. In 1936, the Popular Front brought in paid leave and legitimised holidays.

Time for recreation and relaxation became part of daily life, enjoyed by a consumer society at its peak during the Trente Glorieuses (1945 – 1975). Sport not only provided an outlet for all classes in a rapidly changing society, but also acted as a powerful stimulus for artistic creativity.

Today, amateur sport is one of the most popular leisure activities in our modern society and the thrills of top-level sport are also appreciated. This aligns with a new-found appreciation for taking a stroll, chilling out and having a lazy day.

The exhibition Frisbee! explores the diversity of sporting disciplines, their adoption by post-war consumer society, and the joys of all sorts of pastimes, from outdoor pursuits to board games – not forgetting the Olympics! Through a variety of aesthetics and perspectives, the exhibition highlights the extent to which many artists, from Andy Warhol to Alfred Hrdlicka, including Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Max Ernst or Elisabeth Sabala, have been fascinated by the subject, whether it be boxing, bullfighting, dance or chess.

Donna Stolz
Show me a garden that’s burstin’ into light
2007
Collection Würth, Inv. 11324
Photo : Volker Naumann, Schönaich © DR

Michael Halsband
Jean-Michel Basquiat et Andy Warhol
1985
Collection Würth, Inv. 7018
Photo : Archive Würth © DR

Elisabeth Sabala
Las chicas del coro / The choir girls
2009
Collection Würth Spain, Inv. 13554
Photo : Reproestudio © DR

Camille Pissarro
Route de Berneval-le-Petit (Maison Thievain)
1900
Collection Würth, Inv. 3430
Photo : Philipp Schönborn, München © DR