The exhibition focuses on works of painting and graphic art from the BLMK collection that reflect social processes and contemporary events of the 1980s.
In the 1980s, cultural policy in the GDR was characterized by an often contradictory interplay of revolutionary rebellion, apocalyptic mood and temporary anarchy. For many artists, this represented an existential balancing act. Their paths were diverse and independent or stubborn, but often in the field of tension between adaptation, inner rejection and rebellion. Freedom for experimental art forms could be fought for. Critical pictorial content was increasingly included in official exhibitions.
This exhibition focuses on works of painting and graphic art from the 1980s from the BLMK collection. Despite everything, a multifaceted art landscape emerged within the GDR. The complexity of the heterogeneous and the differentiation of the "art possible" is astonishing. A stylistic orientation towards the canon of forms of classical modernism can be discovered, as well as daringly exaggerated expressivity or the turning away from figuration and the celebration of free abstraction. Sometimes close to realism, but also surreally coded and challengingly ambiguous. Contemporary events are boldly reflected in critical images. On display are figurative works - heads, portraits and full-length paintings - works that reflect social processes, interiors and still lifes, but also works on metropolitan flair or the longing for exotic faraway destinations.
November 23, 2025 to January 25, 2026
