Exhibitions 2009

“Mode ist immer ein Ausdruck von Zeitgeist, vielleicht sogar der beste Indikator”
[Fashion always is a manifestation of Zeitgeist, perhaps even it’s best indicator.]
F.C. Gundlach

From November 2009 the Martin-Gropius-Bau presents the definitive retrospective of F.C. Gundlach’s extensive photographic work with the exhibition “F.C. Gundlach – Photographic Work”. F.C Gundlach is one of the most famous fashion photographers worked for the most important magazines and publications from the middle of the 1950’s to 1990. Among other many famous pictures the most comprehensive presentation of F.C. Gundlach’s work shows many fameless facets of F.C. Gundlach’s work to date. After years of research, the curators Klaus Honnef, Hans-Michael Koetzle, Sebastian Lux and Ulrich Rüter present for the first time numerous unknown images as vintage prints alongside F.C. Gundlach’s famous photo icons.

“Mode ist immer ein Ausdruck von Zeitgeist, vielleicht sogar der beste Indikator”
[Fashion always is a manifestation of Zeitgeist, perhaps even it’s best indicator.]
F.C. Gundlach

From November 2009 the Martin-Gropius-Bau presents the definitive retrospective of F.C. Gundlach’s extensive photographic work with the exhibition “F.C. Gundlach – Photographic Work”. F.C Gundlach is one of the most famous fashion photographers worked for the most important magazines and publications from the middle of the 1950’s to 1990. Among other many famous pictures the most comprehensive presentation of F.C. Gundlach’s work shows many fameless facets of F.C. Gundlach’s work to date. After years of research, the curators Klaus Honnef, Hans-Michael Koetzle, Sebastian Lux and Ulrich Rüter present for the first time numerous unknown images as vintage prints alongside F.C. Gundlach’s famous photo icons.

In autumn 2009 the Martin-Gropius-Bau will be mounting the first exhibition of the impressive work of the press photographer Harald Schmitt. A total of 120 photographs will be shown with political and social themes. Most of them were taken in the former GDR, Soviet Union, communist Czechoslovakia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and China.

Up until the 1990s the countries of Eastern Europe resembled a massive monolithic bloc. They were all subjected to the supremacy of the Soviet Union, forced into a military alliance, governed by similar political casts, dominated by a single ideology, and harassed by censorship. Ultimately, however, this mighty empire was shaken by eruptions that spread from one location to another, finally leading to the erosion of the entire Eastern bloc.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Futurism the Martin-Gropius-Bau in cooperation with the Italienisches Kulturinstitut Berlin and the Museo d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto (Mart) is organizing an exhibition to pay tribute to Futurist forms of artistic expression in all their variety – from painting and sculpture to literature.

The exhibition consists mainly of loans from the Mart, which has a collection of over 4,000 Futurist works, including masterpieces by Carrà, Severini, Russolo and Balla, as well as an extensive archive of documents and books by the most important representatives of the avant-garde. The museum and study centre are supplemented by the Casa Museo Depero, Italy’s first Futurist Museum that was founded by Fortunato Depero himself and opened in cooperation with the city of Rovereto in 1959.

For the first time, the three German Bauhaus institutions are uniting to present a comprehensive exhibition about the Bauhaus, the most influential school for art, design and architecture of the 20th century. Numerous, to a large extent widely unknown objects will make “Bauhaus. A Conceptual Model” a unique exhibition that will dominate Berlin’s cultural summer. The primary supporter of the exhibition, which honours the ninetieth anniversary of the foundation of the State Bauhaus in Weimar, is the national Kulturstiftung (Culture Foundation). “Bauhaus. A Conceptual Model” will be shown from 22 July until 4 October 2009 in the Martin-Gropius-Bau.

What motivates people
The photographs of Herlinde Koelbl, 1976–2009

Asked why she didn’t photograph mountains or landscapes, Herlinde Koelbl once replied: “People are unpredictable.” Perhaps this statement gives an indication of what makes the work of this great German art photographer so special. She wants to grasp people, understand them, find out something about how they live, what they choose to surround themselves with, how they would like to appear and what they really are, what elates them and what casts them down. Her images are intense experiences because they are the product of a genuine interest in and curiosity about her fellow human beings, and her respect for the lives of others is always in evidence. In her photographs no one is stripped naked, but they are subjected to searching questions. This applies just as much to Gerhard Schröder as to any married couple sitting in their living room.

Le Corbusier (1887–1965) is considered to be one of the most significant architects of the 20th century. His work continues to exert a considerable influence on architecture and town planning to this day. The exhibition will take an explicitly contemporary view of its subject that takes account of the latest research while at the same time attempting to do justice to the perennial discourse on Le Corbusier. On the other hand it should be seen as an introduction to the work of the architect – especially for those more recent generations for whom Le Corbusier is already part of the history of the 20th century.

The Martin-Gropius-Bau presents the first retrospective of the photographer Liselotte Grschebina (1908–1994), showing 100 photos taken by the artist in Germany and Palestine between 1929 and the 1940s. Liselotte Grschebina was represented with selected photographs in the 2005 exhibition “The New Hebrews. 100 Years of Art in Israel” held in the Martin-Gropius-Bau.

Born in Germany of Jewish parents, Liselotte Grschebina was forced to leave the country in 1934. She went to Palestine, where she was to remain for the rest of her life. Her photographic works were only discovered by her son, Beni Gjebin, after her death. In the year 2000 he donated the collection, which comprised about 1,400 photos, to the Photography Department of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, where the material, which was disorganized, undated and provided with only very sparse accompanying information, was systematized.

Hannes Kilian is one of Germany’s most significant photographers. The Hannes Kilian exhibition consists of about 320 black-and-white photographs representing a cross-section of his work between 1937 and 1987. Kilian’s way of looking at things and his talent for capturing situations and documenting individual destinies in all their complexity are masterly. Kilian did not stage his pictures, but used them to mirror his own very personal perceptions. Many images reveal his great gift for capturing movement with the camera, as is shown by his ballet shots. In addition to impressive photos of bomb damage in Stuttgart, which Kilian took in 1944 despite a ban on taking photos, the exhibition shows scenes from the history of Berlin before and after the Wall. Also on display are pictures which are to be seen in the context of Kilian’s work as a photojournalist. Portraits of politicians such as Ludwig Erhard, Reinhold Maier and Ernst Reuter, of actors like Gina Lollobrigida and Gary Cooper, and of many other artists supplement the exhibition.