The Berlinische Galerie is a museum of modern art, photography and architecture in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. It is located in

Kreuzberg Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Berlin-Mitte, Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in ...

, on Alte Jakobstraße, not far from the

Jewish Museum A Jewish museum is a museum which focuses upon Jews and may refer seek to explore and share the Jewish experience in a given area. Notable Jewish museums include: Albania * Solomon Museum, Berat Australia * Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourn ...

. The Berlinische Galerie collects art created in Berlin since 1870 with a regional and international focus. Since September 2010, the museum's director has been the art historian Thomas Köhler, until then deputy director, succeeding Jörn Merkert.

History

The Berlinische Galerie was founded in 1975 as a society devoted to exhibiting art from Berlin. For the first few years it was based in an office in

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

, and its exhibitions were displayed at the

Akademie der Künste The Academy of Arts () is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The academy's predecessor organization was founded in 1696 by Elector F ...

and the

New National Gallery The Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery) at the Kulturforum is a museum for modern art in Berlin, with its main focus on the 20th century. It is part of the National Gallery (Berlin), National Gallery of the Berlin State Museums. The museu ...

among others. In 1978 the Galerie moved into a former

Landwehr ''Landwehr'' (), or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national army, armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fo ...

officers' mess (now the Museum of Photography) on Jebensstraße, near Zoo Station. In 1986 it moved again, into the

Martin-Gropius-Bau Martin-Gropius-Bau, commonly known as Gropius Bau, is an important exhibition space in Berlin, Germany. Originally a museum of applied arts, the building has been a listed historical monument since 1966. It is located at 7 Niederkirchnerstraße ...

. In 1994 the collection became a public-law foundation. In 1998 the Berlinische Galerie had to leave the Martin-Gropius-Bau due to reconstruction. After six years without a permanent home, it opened in its new location, in former industrial premises in Kreuzberg, in 2004. Built in 1965, the current building was originally a glass warehouse, and took the Galerie a year to renovate. The museum reopened again in 2015 following a €6 million refurbishment that mainly involved updating the museum's security and technical equipment.

Collection

The Berlinische Galerie collects art created in Berlin from the end of the 19th century (since 1870) to the present. The collection is interdisciplinary. Painting, sculpture, installation and media art, graphic art, photography, architecture and the documentary estates of artists are among the holdings. The collection consists of five collection areas: Fine Arts, Prints and Drawings, Photography, Architecture and Artists' Archives.

Fine Arts

The Fine Arts Collection contains around 5000 objects. Among them are works by prominent artists such as

Max Beckmann Max Carl Friedrich Beckmann (February 12, 1884 – December 27, 1950) was a German painter, drawing, draftsman, printmaker, sculpture, sculptor, and writer. Although he is classified as an Expressionist artist, he rejected both the term and the m ...

Hannah Höch Hannah Höch (; 1 November 1889 – 31 May 1978) was a German Dada artist. She is best known for her work of the Weimar Republic, Weimar period, when she was one of the originators of photomontage. Photomontage, or fotomontage, is a type of collag ...

Naum Gabo Naum Gabo (born Naum Neemia Pevsner; Russian language, Russian: Наум Борисович Певзнер; Hebrew language, Hebrew: נחום נחמיה פבזנר) (23 August 1977) was an influential sculptor, theorist, and key figure in Russia's ...

Georg Baselitz Georg Baselitz (born 23 January 1938) is a German Painting, painter, Sculpture, sculptor and Graphic arts, graphic artist. In the 1960s he became well known for his Figurative art, figurative, expressive paintings. In 1969 he began painting his ...

Wolf Vostell Wolf Vostell (14 October 1932 – 3 April 1998) was a German painter and sculptor, considered one of the early adopters of video art and installation art and pioneer of Happenings and Fluxus. Techniques such as blurring and Dé-coll/age are ...

Ursula Sax Ursula Sax (born 1935 in Backnang/Württemberg) is a German visual artist and sculptor. Life Ursula Sax was born in Backnang, a lively small town near Stuttgart. She has described her father as a teacher with artistic-poetic ambitions. He re ...

and

John Bock John Bock (born 1965 in Schenefeld, Germany) is a German artist. He studied in Hamburg, Germany and lives and works in Berlin. Work Bock is a multi-media artist primarily known for his performances. Since 1991, he creates environments hand cr ...

. Works by numerous artist groups are also represented, e.g. the Berlin Secession, Dada Berlin, the Eastern European avant-gardes, the Neue Wilde and the young art scene after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The

Golden Twenties The Golden Twenties (), also known as the Happy Twenties (), was a five-year time period within the decade of the 1920s in Germany. The era began in 1924, after the end of the hyperinflation following World War I, and ended with the Wall Stree ...

form a focal point.

Prints and Drawings

The collection Prints and Drawings comprises around 15,000 sheets, including prints and above all drawings. The works represent the diversity of art historical developments in Berlin: from

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...

Berlin, late

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

from 1914, the Eastern European avant-garde of the 1920s to

New Objectivity The New Objectivity (in ) was a movement in German art that arose during the 1920s as a reaction against German Expressionism, expressionism. The term was coined by Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub, the director of the ''Kunsthalle Mannheim, Kunsthalle' ...

, New Figuration of the 1960s, East Berlin art since the construction and fall of the Wall, and contemporary drawing.

Photography

With around 73,000 photographs, the photographic collection is one of the most important in Germany. In addition to portrait, architectural and urban photography, the focus is also on advertising and fashion photography, photojournalistic works, photomontages, photograms and photographic concept works. A special feature is the artistic photography of the

GDR East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

. The museum also promotes contemporary Berlin photography through continuous and extensive acquisitions.

Architecture

The architecture collection comprises around 300,000 plans, 80,000 photographs, 4,000 design cartons for stained glass and mosaics, 2,500 models and around 800 metres of file material from estates, competitions and archives. The materials document Berlin's urban planning and architecture from 1900 to the present.

Artists' Archives

The collection preserves documentary material on artists, artist groups, gallery owners and art scholars (including the Art Nouveau artist

Fidus Hugo Reinhold Karl Johann Höppener (8 October 1868 – 23 February 1948), known under the pseudonym Fidus, was a German illustrator, painter, and publisher. Part of the Symbolism (arts), symbolist movement, his later work took influence from the ...

, the November Group, the Ferdinand Möller Gallery and the sculptors

and Hans Uhlmann). A special focus is the extensive archive holdings on the Berlin DADA movement consisting of the estates of Hannah Höch and

Raoul Hausmann Raoul Hausmann (July 12, 1886 – February 1, 1971) was an Austrian artist and writer. One of the key figures in Berlin Dada, his experimental photographic collages, sound poetry, and institutional critiques would have a profound influence on ...

Exhibitions

Permanent Exhibition

On the upper floor, the museum's permanent exhibition entitled ''Art in Berlin 1880–1980'' presents a selection of the main works in its collection from the fields of painting, graphic art, sculpture, photography and architecture in chronological order on more than , updated by discoveries and new acquisitions. In October 2020, the tour of the collection was fundamentally renewed and presents art from the painting of the imperial period at the end of the 19th century to works of Expressionism, the Eastern European avant-garde, the architecture of post-war modernism and the ''Heftige Malerei'' of the 1970s.

Special Exhibition

The special exhibition programme on the ground floor ranges from classical modernism to contemporary art in Berlin. These are complemented by series of events with films, concerts, artist talks, curator tours and lectures.

List of special exhibitions (selection)

* 2010/2011: ''

Nan Goldin Nancy Goldin (born 1953) is an American photographer and activist. Her work explores in snapshot-style the emotions of the individual, in intimate relationships, and the Bohemian style, bohemian LGBT subcultural communities, especially dealing w ...

:'' ''Berlin Work. Photographs 1984–2009'' * 2010/2011: ''

Susanne Kriemann Susanne Kriemann (born 1972 in Erlangen) is a German artist, photographer and professor at Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design. Life and career Susanne Kriemann graduated from the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart in 1997, where she ...

:'' ''GASAG Art Prize 2010'' * 2010/2011: ''

Arno Fischer Arno Fischer ( Wedding, Berlin, 14 April 1927 – Neustrelitz, 13 September 2011) was a German photographer and university teacher. Life Early years and war Arno Fischer's father worked as a type setter. Arno attended school locally from 193 ...

: Photographs 1953–2006. Hannah-Höch-Award 2010'' * 2011/2012: ''

Eva Besnyö Éva Besnyő (29 April 1910 – 12 December 2003) was a Dutch-Hungarian photographer who participated in the ''Nieuwe Fotografie'' (New Photography) movement. Biography Born in Budapest, Besnyö was brought up in a well-to-do Jewish home. In 19 ...

: Woman Photographer 1910–2003. Budapest – Berlin – Amsterdam. The Berlinische Galerie plays host to Das Verborgene Museum'' * 2011/2012: ''J. Mayer H.:'' ''RAPPORT. Experiments with Spatial Structure'' * 2011/2012: ''Friedrich Seidenstücker:'' ''Photographs 1925–1958'' * 2012: ''

Boris Mikhailov Boris Mikhailov may refer to: * Boris Mikhailov (Comintern), representative of the Communist International to the US in 1929-30 * Boris Mikhailov (photographer) (born 1938), fine art photographer * Boris Mikhailov (ice hockey) Boris Petrovich M ...

:'' ''Time is out of joint. Photography 1966–2011'' * 2012: ''Michael Sailstorfer: Forst. Vattenfall Contemporary 2012'' * 2012/2013: ''The Shuttered Society. Art Photography in the GDR 1949–1989'' * 2012/2013: ''

Tue Greenfort Tue Greenfort (born 1973) is a Danish artist best known for his environmentalist works. He studied at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste–Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main and at Funen Art Academy in Denmark. Selected solo exhibitions 2009 F ...

: GASAG Art Prize 2012'' * 2013: '' Tobias Zielony: Jenny Jenny'' * 2013/2014: ''

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Berlin. The Art of Two Cities. From Schiele to Grosz'' (a cooperation with the Austrian museum

Belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco * Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...

) * 2014: ''

Dorothy Iannone Dorothy Iannone (August 9, 1933 – December 26, 2022) was an American visual artist. Her autobiographical texts, films, and paintings explicitly depict female sexuality and "ecstatic unity."Rosenberg, Karen"An Iconoclast Who Valorizes the Ero ...

:'' ''This Sweetness Outside of Time. Paintings, Objects, Books 1959–2014'' * 2015: ''Radically Modern. Urban Planning and Architecture in 1960s Berlin'' * 2015/2016: ''

and Berlin'' * 2016: ''DADA Africa. Dialogue with the Other'' (a partnership with the

Museum Rietberg The Rietberg Museum is a museum in Zürich, Switzerland, displaying Asian, African, American and Oceanian art. It is the largest art museum focusing on non-European art and design in Switzerland, the third-largest museum in Zürich, and the large ...

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

) * 2016: ''Heidi Specker: Photographs 2005/2015'' * 2016: ''

Erwin Wurm Erwin Wurm (born 1954) is an Austrian artist. He lives and works in Vienna and Limberg in Austria; Hydra, Greece; and in New York City. Early life Erwin Wurm was born in Bruck an der Mur, Austria, in 1954. His father was a detective, who did n ...

: Bei Mutti''  * 2016/2017: ''

Cornelia Schleime Cornelia Schleime (born July 4, 1953) is a German painter, performer, filmmaker and author. Born in East Berlin under the East Germany, GDR, she studied painting and graphic arts at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts before becoming a member of the C ...

: A Blink of An Eye. Hannah-Höch-Preis 2016'' * 2017: ''

: In the Moloch of the Presence of Being'' * 2017: '' Christine Streuli: Fred-Thieler-Preis 2017''  * 2017: ''Faraway Focus. Photographers go travelling (1880–2015)'' * 2017: ''

Monica Bonvicini Monica Bonvicini (born 1965 in Venice) is a German-Italian artist who works with installation, sculpture, video, photography and drawing mediums to explore the relationships between architecture and space, power, gender and sexuality. She is co ...

: 3612,54 m³ vs 0,05 m³'' * 2017/2018: '' Jeanne Mammen: The Observer. Retrospective 1910–1975'' * 2018: ''Loredana Nemes: Greed Fear Love. Photographs 2008–2018'' * 2018: ''

Eduardo Paolozzi Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art. Early years Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi was born on 7 M ...

: Lots of Pictures – Lots of Fun'' * 2018/2019: ''Freedom. The art of the

Novembergruppe The November Group () was a group of German expressionist artists and architects. Formed on 3 December 1918, they took their name from the month of the German Revolution. The group was led by Max Pechstein and César Klein. Linked less by their ...

1918–1935'' * 2019: ''Underground Architecture. Berlin Metro Stations 1953–1994'' * 2019: ''André Kirchner. Berlin: The City's Edge 1993/94'' * 2019: ''

Lotte Laserstein Lotte Laserstein (28 November 1898 – 21 January 1993) was a German-Swedish painter.
Carol ...

: Face to Face'' * 2019/2020: ''Original

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

. The centenary exhibition'' (a cooperation project with the Bauhaus Archive Berlin, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Bauhaus) * 2019/2020: '' Bettina Pousttchi: In Recent Years'' * 2020: '' Umbo Photographer. Works 1926–1956'' * 2020/2021: ''Drawing the City. Paper-based works 1945 to the Present'' * 2020/2021: ''Provenances. Wayfaring Art'' * 2021/2022: ''

Ferdinand Hodler Ferdinand Hodler (March 14, 1853 – May 19, 1918) was a Swiss painter. He is one of the best-known Swiss painters of the nineteenth century. His early works were portraits, landscapes, and genre paintings in a realistic style. Later, he ad ...

and Berlin Modernism'' * 2021/2022: ''

Alicja Kwade Alicja Kwade (born 1979) is a Polish-German contemporary visual artist. Her sculptures and installations focus on the subjectivity of time and space. Kwade lives and works in Berlin. Early life and education Kwade was born in the industrial cit ...

: In Abwesenheit (In Absence)'' * 2021/2022: ''Louise Stomps: Nature Shapes. Sculptures and Drawings 1928–1988. Das Verborgene Museum as a guest at the Berlinische Galerie'' * 2022: ''Fashion–Clothing in Art. Photography, Fine Arts, and Fashion since 1900'' * 2022: ''

Sibylle Bergemann Sibylle Bergemann (29 August 1941 – 1 November 2010) was a German photographer. In 1990, she co-founded the Ostkreuz photographers agency. She is remembered for documenting developments in East Berlin during the Communist era and for her inter ...

: Town and Country and Dogs. Photographs 1966–2010'' * 2022/2023: ''Magyar Modern. Hungarian Art in Berlin 1910–1933'' (a partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest – Hungarian National Gallery)

Friends of the Museum: Förderverein

For over 45 years, the Friends have been supported by around 1700 members (as of 2023), who support the work of the museum primarily financially. This also includes the members of "Jung und Artig", the circle of young friends. In addition to free museum admission, they receive special tours, studio visits, excursions and previews.

References

Bibliography

* Van Uffelen, Chris. ''Contemporary Museums – Architecture, History, Collections'', Braun Publishing, 2010, , pages 222–223. * Berlinische Galerie (ed.): ''Berlinische Galerie – Museum für Moderne Kunst'', 2014, (in German).

External links

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History from Berliner Immobilienmanagement. {{authority control Art museums and galleries in Berlin Modern art museums in Germany Art museums and galleries established in 1975 1975 establishments in West Germany Buildings and structures in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg