The Berlinische Galerie Displays “Art in Berlin 1880 – 1980”

Written by Hutablage Rattenfänger Wednesday, 09 November 2011 23:31

Berlin.- Following its redevelopment by Canadian architect David Saik, the Berlinische Galerie has been taking advantage of the opportunities provided to present highlights from its collection of Berlin Art. “Art in Berlin 1880 – 1980” is the ongoing display of works from the collection. David Saik studied art and architecture at the Universities of Alberta, British Columbia and Toronto. He has been working in Berlin since 2002, including in the offices of New York architect  Richard Gluckman, Swiss architects Herzog & De Meuron, and British architect David Chipperfield. He was involved in the concepts for the Deutscher Guggenheim, the De Young Museum in San Francisco, and the Neues Museum in Berlin. He has built a studio for Canadian artist Jeff Wall, realised contemporary art galleries, developed a number of private housing projects for collectors, and is one of those responsible for this year’s presentation of artist Steven Shearer in the Canadian pavilion of the Biennale di Venezia 2011.

One characteristic of spaces conceived by Saik is their great – but never forced – clarity and austerity, which follows from his debate with American artist Donald Judd and the latter’s visions of space.

The Berlinische Galerie is one of the newest museums in the German capital and collects art from Berlin dating from 1870 to the present day – with both a local and international focus. Founded in 1975, the State Museum reopened in its own building close to the Jewish Museum in 2004. Initially built as a glass warehouse in 1964, the structure was redeveloped from top to bottom; a second floor was constructed, as well as a foyer, a library, a study area and an auditorium. The museum was advised on this design by the architectural office Kuehn Malvezzi. The division of space was kept as flexible and open as possible. In the following years, a distinct separation emerged between the two levels: changing exhibitions took place primarily on the ground floor, while the collection was shown in a permanent presentation upstairs. Here, the exhibition architecture lacked a fixed concept, visitor guidance was rather unclear, and the significance of the collections was not conveyed optimally to the public. Over time, these failings prompted the development of a new concept for the collection’s presentation.

By contrast to the previous organisation of space on the upper floor, with walls set both diagonally and at right angles to each other, architect David Saik responds to the exposed structure of the square building. By using long parallel walls that echo the division of the ground floor and frame the central staircase, he creates a strong and clear reference to the collection. The connection between the two floors is consolidated, meaning that a visit to the permanent collection on the upper floor is perceived as a more integral part of any tour of the museum. Saik’s architecture directly opposes the dominant current trend towards complicated or “artistic” art spaces. His aim is to create a “good space” (Donald Judd): a simple, clearly defined and well-proportioned space for the presentation of art.

Now 17 “good spaces” have been generated in harmony with the curators’ hanging concept, each one of them unique in its size and orientation. They are accessed via a series of connecting interim spaces. In subtle engagement with the interdisciplinary exhibits, and after careful development of a well-tuned colour spectrum, Saik has introduced colour into some of these gallery spaces. His spatial concept aims to enable visitors to enjoy an organised but variable visit – avoiding the monotony of the traditional “enfilade”. "Art in Berlin 1880 - 1980" allows the Berlinische Galerie to show art produced in Berlin in these new rooms. Internationally acclaimed works from the genres of painting, graphic art, sculpture, photography and architecture are presented chronologically to reveal an exciting dialogue between artistic styles: art around 1900, Expressionism, Berlin Dada, the Eastern European avant-garde, New Objectivity, art under National Socialism, new beginnings after 1945, and post-war architecture up to positions of the 1970s.


Amongst the artists now more prominently displayed are Anton von Werner, Max Liebermann, Heinrich Zille, Max Beckmann, Ludwig Meidner, Erich Salomon, Iwan Puni, Otto Bartning, Erich Mendelsohn, Hannah Höch, Raoul Hausmann, Naum Gabo, El Lissitzky, Otto Dix, Jeanne Mammen, Martha Astfalck-Vietz, Felix Nussbaum, Karl Hofer, Georgij Petrussov, Werner Held, Hans Uhlmann, Hermann Henselmann, Hans Scharoun, Fred Thieler, Georg Baselitz, Eugen Schönebeck, K.H. Hödicke, Ralf Schüler and Ursulina Schüler-Witte and Georg Heinrichs.

As well as its art collection, the Berlinische Galerie has an auditorium, an archive, library, a study room, and an art school for children and adults. The oldest works in the Galerie's ownership date from 1870. The museum's visual art collection includes works by the Berlin Secession (Max Liebermann and Lovis Corinth), New Objectivity and Expressionism (Otto Dix, George Grosz and Hannah Höch), as well as Georg Baselitz, Wolf Vostell, and the Junge Wilde. The museum also owns a large graphic art collection (around 15,000 works) as well as photographs and architectural models, and sometimes hosts contemporary installations. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.berlinischegalerie.de

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