H. A. Schilling: Just Turned on a Lathe?

Opening: Sunday, November 29, 2026, 11:00 a.m.

“Just turned on a lathe?”—Not a chance. Using local woods—such as bog oak or sequoia—complemented by metal, wire, or concrete, H. A. Schilling creates far more than just technically masterful, unique vessels. They are parables of our lives. They tell stories of separation, uncertainty, and hurt. For this master woodturner and certified designer—born in Worms in 1952 and living in Grünstadt—woodturning is not merely a complex craft technique; it is a way of thinking. His independent works, as well as his mass-produced chopsticks, salt shakers, pepper mills, and writing pens, stem from a deep understanding of wood as a material—its structure, its tension, and its resilience.

On the occasion of the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award for Arts and Crafts presented by the Palatinate Regional Association, the mpk presents an overview of a body of work that navigates the space between sophisticated functional objects and free artistic expression, between perfection and the point of rupture. Schilling’s works capture the essence of things; they are characterized by a quiet, powerful aesthetic of simplicity—and yet, in the end, they are simply turned!