Art in Berlin 1880 – 1980
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Press Release Berlin, 14.10.20 Berlin is always changing. The city’s art scene con- stantly reinvents itself, too. Narrating this eventful his- tory from the dawn of Modernism around 1900 into the 1980s is the theme of our permanent exhibition “Art in Berlin 1880–1980”. With fresh vigour and diversity since the revamp in October 2020, the collection at the Berlinische Galerie occupies more than 1000 square metres. Waiting to be discovered among the roughly 250 works on show are paintings, prints, photographs, architecture and archive materials rarely or never displayed before. 2020 Walking around this exhibition is like time travel through Berlin: the Kaiser’s era, the Weimar Republic, the Nazi dictatorship, the new beginnings after 1945, Bild-Kunst, Bonn Bonn Bild-Kunst, VG Cold War in the divided city, and the counter-cultures , © and unconventional lifestyles that evolved in East and 1926 West under the shadow of the Wall. In East Berlin, an alternative art community developed from the late 1970s. In West Berlin from the late 1970s, aggressive art by the “Neue Wilden” placed the divided city back in the international limelight. New in the permanent Richard Ziegler, Knabe im Sandkasten, exhibition Art in Berlin Heroes, Knights, Monsters In 1913/14 Lovis Corinth (1858–1925) created a spec- tacular 11-part cycle of wall paintings for the wealthy 1880 – 1980 Berlin entrepreneur Ludwig Katzenellenbogen and his first wife Estella. Six of these are now in the Ber- Rediscovering the Collection linische Galerie. The comic-like, monumental can- at the Berlinische Galerie vases have not been shown for many years, but now they add a striking highlight to the hall around the stairway. They were made for the dining room of a From 22 October manor house (no longer standing) at Freienhagen near Oranienburg. Corinth was closely involved in Berlin’s venture into modern art. From 1900 he cham- pioned the cause of the Berlin Secession, where he regularly exhibited. By inviting international artists to their shows, the Secessionists also publicised the full spectrum of Modernist styles: Naturalism, Symbol- ism, Art Nouveau, Impressionism and Pointillism, all of which are represented in the permanent exhibition. Der Sturm – a stage for the avant-garde In March 1912 Herwarth Walden (1878–1941) opened his gallery “Der Sturm” in Berlin. For a decade and a half it was to be a leading forum for modern art. Its very name, “the storm”, conveys the energy and pace 1 with which its founder brought the European avant- he accompanied the big airships of the period. In garde to Berlin. Walden’s interests centred initially the late 1920, his aerial photography also caught on fairly unknown young Expressionists, Futurists the attention of the avant-garde, featuring in exhibi- and Cubists. In the 1920s, with his strong feel for new tions and publications associated today with the New visual forms, he showed the Hungarian Constructiv- Vision. ists and the Russian Ivan Puni (1892–1956) and gave a forum to Merz artist Kurt Schwitters (1887–1948). He Herbert Tobias – Photographs from the 1940s was tireless and pugnacious on behalf of “his” artists The photographs taken in Russia by Herbert Tobias and so “Der Sturm” came to epitomise progressive (1924–1982) are among the most notable war pictures art in general. The history of this avant-garde gallery to emerge from the Second World War. In 1943 he is told through numerous artworks along with original was deployed to the Soviet Union to fight as a Ger- documents from our Artists’ Archives. man soldier on the Eastern Front. At the age of 19, Tobias was already a talented amateur photographer. Dada in Berlin Like many soldiers he took his camera to war, but the For a long time, these works, which are among the metaphorical quality and symbolic content of his pic- most precious in our collection, were out on the road. tures offer far more than the usual souvenir snapshot. Now the anti-art of the Dadaists is on show at home These empathetic images not only expose the brutal- again. The Dada movement began as a political reac- ity of the campaign, which left an indelible mark on tion by artists to the First World War. Its key protago- Tobias’s world view. There are also noticeable signs nists in Berlin were Hannah Höch (1889–1978), Raoul of his homosexuality, well before he came out. Hausmann (1886–1971), John Heartfield 1891( –1968), George Grosz (1893–1959) and Johannes Baader Individual and functional – Detached houses (1875–1955). Through their works the Dadaists vented in Berlin from 1950 radical opposition to German nationalism and milita- Among the single-family houses designed for the rism. Dada devised new forms of artistic expression city from the 1950s onwards there were some stylish with an instructive component. The provocations and detached homes, especially in the Western sectors. shock tactics – in both visual art formats and stage Their architects drew consciously on the modern- performances – were intended to make society think ist aesthetic of the 1920s. Styles ranged from organic about itself. architecture with its free-flowing, irregular forms in the manner of Hans Scharoun (1893–1972) to a revival Faces of the City of Bauhaus ideals founded on functionality and From the early 1920s, a loose-knit group of artists in clarity. Floor plans and versatile references to the Germany began responding to life’s often harsh real- outdoor space were tailored to the needs of the occu- ities. Their style soon became known as New Objec- pants. Every house acquired its own distinctive char- tivity. Its proponents were not united by any kind of acter. manifesto. They simply took their cue from the visible world, casting aside both Expressionism with its for- Art photography in the GDR of the 1980s mal disarray and Dada with its anti-bourgeois stance. From the late 1970s East Berlin was the most impor- These portraits from the 1920s illustrate a wide range tant base for the alternative art community in the of personal styles. People and objects tend to appear GDR. Young artists in particular rejected the concept cool, sober and isolated within the setting. of socialist realism, which was ideologically framed. Instead they created their own counter-positions, Robert Petschow and New Vision undermining its claims to offer a faithful depiction of As a fruit of our latest Thomas Friedrich Research everyday life under socialism. More and more young Grant in Photography and as a contribution to the photographers insisted on a subjective perception of European Month of Photography (EMOP), we are the world and called for an uncompromising gaze on showing works by Robert Petschow (1888–1945). life in the GDR. In the 1980s, the exhibitions organised Petschow was a well-known balloonist in the Wei- in galleries, clubs and culture centres, although small, mar Republic. By 1935 he had completed almost 400 were extremely significant for the photography scene ascents. His aerial views not only appeared in avia- in the GDR. We are showing works by Ulrich Wüst tion journals and illustrated magazines, but were pro- (*1949) and Maria Sewcz (*1960). moted during his own slide lectures. With his camera 2 Exhibition chapters Collection Online The permanent exhibition is structured in 17 chapters: To find out which works are currently on display, vis- ∙ Heroes, Knights, Monsters. itors can consult the Collection Online in the Perma- Lovis Corinth: The Katzenellenbogen Cycle nent Exhibition section of the museum website (berlinischegalerie.de): ∙ Conservatives and Modernists. Art around 1900 http://sammlung-online.berlinischegalerie.de ∙ Embracing Modernism. Berlin Art around 1900 Berlinische Galerie 45 years on ∙ Robert Petschow and the New Vision 2020 the Berlinische Galerie is celebrating its 45th ∙ Der Sturm. A Forum for the Avant-Garde, 1912–1929 birthday. Now a public museum, it was founded in ∙ Upheaval and a Fresh Start. Avant-Garde Move- 1975 as an association for modern art, photography ments in Berlin, 1910–1933 and architecture that had been created in Berlin. Its first address was a little office on Schlossstrasse ∙ Dada in Berlin. Radical Art from 1918 (Charlottenburg). The inaugural exhibition was held ∙ Berlin as a Hub Between East and West. Constructi- from 21 to 23 November 1975 at Berlin’s Academy vism and the New Vision in the 1920s of Arts. In 1978, the Berlinische Galerie moved into ∙ Faces of the City. New Objectivity in the 1920s its own exhibition space on Jebensstrasse (today’s Museum of Photography), and from 1986 until 1997 it ∙ Metropolitan Berlin. New Objectivity in the 1920s was housed in the Martin Gropius Bau. The search for ∙ Berlin in the Nazi Era. Art between 1933 and 1945 a location ended in 2004 when the museum opened in ∙ Isolation. Artists During Nazi Rule between 1933 and a former glass warehouse in Kreuzberg near Berlin’s 1945 Jewish Museum. ∙ A City in Ruins. Berlin after 1945 On the path to an accessible museum ∙ Abstraction as the “Language of Freedom”. The permanent exhibition can be experienced with Art around 1950 different senses: tactile models and an audio guide ∙ Individual and Functional. Detached Houses in with 17 listening points in German and English per- Berlin from 1950 mit an inclusive tour through 100 years of art in Berlin. This can be downloaded as a free app or accessed ∙ In the Shadow of the Wall. Painting from the 1960s to on the museum website. All the texts in the exhibi- the 1980s tion have a high-contrast layout and are available in ∙ The Young Generation. Photography in 1980s East large print for the visually impaired. Tactile floor guid- Germany ance helps visitors to find their way around the build- ing, and there is barrier-free access to the permanent Artists (selected): exhibition.