On Thursday, September 24, the first edition of the new contemporary art exhibition series in Mainz, “Common Ground,” will kick off. In four-day “Spotlight” exhibitions, two artists from the Waggonfabrik studio collective will present their work as a duo at K-LAB on Karoline-Stern-Platz. The exhibitions are scheduled to take place three times a year and will be aligned with the dates of the PART Gallery Crawl.

To kick off the series, artists Poppy Luley (ceramics) and Lilli Mory Mess (installation/performance) will showcase recent works under the title “kindred beings, borrowed time” from September 24 to 27.

“Common Ground” is a collaboration between the Waggonfabrik studio collective, Kulturbäckerei Mainz e.V., and the Department of Culture of the State Capital of Mainz. As an open-format series, it emphasizes experimentation, process, and autonomy, while enhancing the visibility of contemporary art in Mainz. Curation and exhibition development are entirely in the hands of the artists—thus, each edition opens up different media-based and conceptual approaches.

About Poppy Luley:

POPPY LULEY (*1994, Hemel Hempstead, UK) lives and works in the Mainz area. She studied Fine Arts at the Mainz Academy of Fine Arts and was a master’s student of Prof. Shannon Bool. In her ceramic sculptures, she combines organic forms with a contemporary reinterpretation of Baroque dynamics. Inspired by mythology, flora, and fauna, as well as interpersonal relationships, she creates works that explore transformation, movement, and emotional connection. Through intuitive modeling and painterly glazes, she creates sculptural works that oscillate between lightness, theatricality, and sensual materiality. Her works have been exhibited at the Emde Gallery (Mainz), the Künstlerhaus Bethanien (Berlin), and in various exhibitions in Mainz, Cologne, and Offenbach, among other venues.

About Lilli Mory Mess:

LILLI MORY MESS Lilli Kübler (*2001 in Düsseldorf) studied Fine Arts with a focus on painting and film at the Mainz Academy of Fine Arts under Shannon Bool and John Skoog. She is currently completing her studies as a master student under Nancy Lupo. Since 2024, Mory Mess has been working in the props department of the Mainz State Theater alongside her studies. 

In her artistic practice, she uses every medium as if it were another color in a painting, choosing the most appropriate one depending on the subject matter. As a result, her work ranges from painting and sculpture to installation, performance, film, and text. Mory Mess’s works have been exhibited to date at venues including the Kunsthalle Mainz, the Künstlerhaus Bethanien (Berlin), and exhibition spaces in Kassel, Paris, and Vienna.

Opening:

September 24, 2026, 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

K-LAB, Karoline-Stern-Platz 11, 55118 Mainz

Additional opening hours:

September 25–27, 2026, 2:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.

Save the date—next exhibition dates:

November 26–29, 2026

Featuring Raphael Foidl and Tessa Trautmann

Further information:

https://www.poppyluley.com/

https://www.instagram.com/eine_luecke/