Art in the historic town

HEINZ LASTEI

Art in the Old Town with Heinz Lastei | 7 August – 31 October 2026

Anyone strolling through Chiusa’s small open-air museum in August, September and October will discover Heinz Lastei’s oil paintings displayed in shop windows and cafés. His surrealist works invite visitors to pause and take a closer look, as Lastei’s art does not reveal itself at first glance. His motifs are drawn from everyday life, yet they also convey deeper layers of meaning.

Heinz Lastei is a master of colour, form and subtle irony. With gentle criticism and great sensitivity, he addresses issues concerning our environment and translates them into seemingly everyday scenes. Those who take the time to look closely at the paintings will discover complex visual worlds full of references and imaginative spaces for reflection.

Some works appear powerful and expressive, while others are dreamlike and mysterious. What they all share, however, is the subtle wink that characterises the artist’s work … and that touch of humour which sometimes makes things easier to contemplate.
Maria Gall Prader

When Shop Windows Tell Stories

Klausen is known as a town of artists, and Art in the Old Town builds on this very tradition. The exhibition brings art to the places where city life unfolds: shop windows, vacant spaces and special locations throughout the historic centre. In this way, small and unexpected encounters with art emerge along the way.

The old town is not merely a backdrop, but becomes part of the artistic experience itself. Ancient walls, narrow alleyways and familiar everyday places meet the visual world of Heinz Lastei. His paintings often combine nature and architecture with surrealist details, inviting visitors to take a closer look, interpret what they see and discover their own thoughts and meanings within the images.

HEINZ LASTEI

Information about the exhibition

Duration of the exhibition:
08/08 –31/10/2026
Selected shop windows and locations in the historic centre of Klausen/Chiusa

Opening:
Friday, 07/08/2026 at 7:00 pm
Walthersaal

Information about the artist

Heinz Lastei

South Tyrolean painter Heinz Lastei was born in Merano in 1950. He preferably works with oil on canvas and uses a fine, highly detailed painting technique. In his works, he often combines nature and architecture with surrealist elements, giving visible form to his thoughts, ideas and pictorial worlds. His themes and titles often have a visionary character and invite viewers to look closely, read and interpret. Heinz Lastei draws on motifs that concern him personally, at times allowing critical or ironic nuances to emerge.

1950: Born in Merano
1960–1970: Self-taught artistic practice
1980–1992: Own studio in Bielefeld, Germany
1991–2000: Worked in the advertising sector
2001: Founded the company SchriftArt
2014: Opened his own studio in Bolzano
1984–2026: Exhibitions at various art galleries, including Galerie Malkasten (Germany), Kunstkabinett (Germany), Dammhaus (Germany), Galerie Georg von Almsick (Germany), Die Galerie (Germany), Daniel-Pöppelmann-Haus (Germany) and Sciarada (Bolzano)
2021 and 2022: Exhibitions at the Artists’ Association of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano
2026: Art in the Old Town in Chiusa

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To the art project