2 PRESS RELEASE the Exhibition PAINTER. MENTOR. MAGICIAN. Is the First to Spotlight the Enormous Influence of the Forme

11.10.2018 PRESS RELEASE Page 1 / 2 The exhibition PAINTER. MENTOR. MAGICIAN. is the first to spotlight the enormous influence of the former Brücke artist and expressionist Otto Mueller (1874–1930): for over ten years the artist was engaged as a teacher at the State Academy of Arts and Crafts in Wrocław, which at that time was one of the most progressive schools of art in Europe. Particu- larly from the 1920s onwards, the Wrocław Academy had a reputation for cosmopolitanism and liberality, thanks to the numerous new appoint- ments made by the director at that time, Oskar Moll. This was a place where the many-faceted movements in modern art stood side by side as equals: Expressionism with Otto Mueller, French Peinture of the Acadé- mie Matisse with Oskar Moll, New Objectivity (Neue Sachlichkeit) with Alexander Kanoldt and Carlo Mense and Bauhaus with Oskar Schlemmer, Georg Muche or Johannes Molzahn.

The main focus of the exhibition is on modernist painting: Otto Mueller and his network experienced a creative phase in Wrocław which they de- PRESS CONTACT scribed as highly productive and a direct result of their exchanges and EXHIBITION reciprocal influence. The ways in which the artist colleagues influenced Dr. Katharina von Chlebowski Theresa Lucius each other become apparent through thematic similarities and other TEL +49 30 26 39 488 0 cross-references: in paintings, works on paper, written statements or FAX +49 30 26 39 488 11 [email protected] photographs. And it was the charismatic Otto Mueller, driven by longing www.freunde-der-nationalgalerie.de and a thirst for freedom, who had the greatest influence on the Breslau art scene. From the comments of his closest associates, including art crit-

PRESS CONTACT ics and writers, he seems to have been a ‘romantic’ and even a ‘magician’. STAATLICHE MUSEEN ZU BERLIN He had already been immortalised by Carl Hauptmann in his biography of Generaldirektion Stauffenbergstraße 41 an artist “Einhart der Lächler” (1907) – and with this the Silesian poet laid 10785 Berlin an important foundation stone for the myth later to surround the artist.

Mechtild Kronenberg Press, Communication, Sponsorship Mueller’s striking appearance and his anti-bourgeois way of living held an TEL +49 30 266 42 34 01 enormous fascination for his students at the Academy, men and women FAX +49 30 266 42 34 09 alike. They loved his total commitment to art, his unconventional teaching [email protected] www.smb.museum/presse methods and his humor. Some of his students – such as Alexander Camaro or Horst Strempel – went on from Wrocław to Berlin and experienced here Fiona Geuss Press officer Nationalgalerie the zeniths of their artistic careers. TEL +49 30 39 78 34 17 FAX +49 30 39 78 34 13 One special feature of the curatorial concept of PAINTER. MENTOR. [email protected] www.smb.museum/presse MAGICIAN. is the ‘guest exhibit’ principle: what is meant by this are se- lected works that spotlight the intercultural similarities and differences

An exhibition by the Nationalgalerie, Staatliche over the epochs, particularly in the German-Polish context. The inclusion Museen zu Berlin, in collaboration with the of ‘Polish Expressionists’ provides unique visual comparisons and new Alexander and Renata Camaro Foundation and the correlations and at the same time underlines the German-Polish orienta- Muzeum Narodowe we Wrocławiu. tion of the exhibition. The exhibition is made possible by: Freunde der Nationalgalerie, Hauptstadtkulturfonds, Kulturstiftung der Länder, The immense appreciation for Otto Mueller’s work – from the perspective Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung, Stiftung für of his artist network – extends into post-war modernism: an important deutsch-polnische Zusammenarbeit, Stiftung chapter of German-Polish art history is retold in special consideration of Preußische Seehandlung the interaction between the cities of Berlin and Wrocław.

The present exhibition PAINTER. MENTOR. MAGICIAN. follows the opposite route. It has been developed in Berlin and will go on to be shown in

Wrocław in a modified form. In Berlin the exhibition continues the se- quence of presentations on Classic Modernism that have been shown dur- ing the renovation of the Neue Nationalgalerie at Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin: “The Black Years. Histories of a Collec- tion: 1933–1945”, “Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: Hieroglyphs” and “Rudolf Bell- ing. Sculptures and Architectures”.

A comprehensive catalogue of the same name, compiled by German and Polish experts, will be published by Kehrer Verlag to accompany the exhibition. Edited by Dagmar Schmengler, Agnes Kern and Lidia Głuchowska. Two separate language editions (German and Polish) will be available as from October 2018. Catalogue realisation by: ZEIT-Stiftung, Ernst von Sie- 11.10.2018 mens Kunststiftung Page 2 / 2 For more information and press photographs to download, see the press area at our websites www.ottomuellerinberlin.de, www.freunde-der-nationalgalerie.de or www.smb.museum

An exhibition by the Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, in collaboration with the Alexander and Renata Camaro Foundation and the Muzeum Narodowe we Wrocławiu.

The exhibition is made possible by: Freunde der Nationalgalerie, Hauptstadtkulturfonds, Kulturstiftung der Länder, Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung, Stiftung für deutsch-polnische Zusammenarbeit, Stiftung Preußische Seehandlung

On the occasion of 100 years of Bauhaus.

NEUE GALERIE PRESS CONFERENCE PRESS CONTACT HAMBURGER BAHNHOF – MUSEUM FÜR Thu 11.10.2018, 11 am EXHIBITION GEGENWART – BERLIN Dr. Katharina von Chlebowski Theresa Lucius STAATLICHE MUSEEN ZU BERLIN OPENING TEL +49 30 26 39 488 0 Invalidenstraße 50-51 Thu 11.10.2018, 8 pm FAX +49 30 26 39 488 11 [email protected] 10557 Berlin www.freunde-der-nationalgalerie.de OPENING HOURS www.smb.museum/hbf Tue, Wed, Fri 10 am–6 pm

PRESS CONTACT Thu 10 am–8 pm STAATLICHE MUSEEN ZU BERLIN Sat, Sun 11 am–6 pm Generaldirektion Stauffenbergstraße 41 Mon closed 10785 Berlin

Mechtild Kronenberg Press, Communication, Sponsorship TEL +49 30 266 42 34 01 FAX +49 30 266 42 34 09 [email protected] www.smb.museum/presse

Fiona Geuss Press officer Nationalgalerie TEL +49 30 39 78 34 17 FAX +49 30 39 78 34 13 [email protected] www.smb.museum/presse

An exhibition by the Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, in collaboration with the Alexander and Renata Camaro Foundation and the Muzeum Narodowe we Wrocławiu.