For the first time, Maria Lassnig (1919–2014) and Edvard Munch (1863–1944) are being shown together in a major double exhibition. At first glance, more than half a century separates the Austrian artist—whose works were purchased early on by the Hamburger Kunsthalle as the first German museum to do so—and the Norwegian painter—of whom the Kunsthalle owns a large collection of paintings and works on paper. And yet there are astonishing parallels between their works and biographies. The thematic juxtaposition allows their work to be read in a new light.

Both artists share a unique approach to color as a creative medium and a powerful means of expressing inner emotions such as grief, love, loneliness, fear, joy, or pain. At the same time, it is often overlooked physical sensations and levels of perception that come into focus here, are reflected artistically, and thus give rise to idiosyncratic imagery.

For both Lassnig and Munch, painting was more than just an artistic technique. It was a form of self-questioning and questioning of the world. Their works show inner and outer states that have an immediate emotional effect. The subtitle of the exhibition, "Malfluss = Lebensfluss" (Painting Flow = Life Flow), comes from a painting by Maria Lassnig. It illustrates the inseparable connection between art and life.

Maria Lassnig, 1919–2014, "3 Arten zu sein" (3 Ways of Being) 2004 © Maria Lassnig Foundation, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025

The exhibition comprises over 180 works, including various major works, but also paintings that are rarely shown, impressive works on paper, films, photographs, and a sculpture. An exhibition by the Hamburger Kunsthalle and the Kunsthaus Zürich.
March 27 to August 30, 2026