One hundred years after the "First Manifesto of Surrealism" (1924), the exhibition provides new insights into the extensive networks of artists, dealers and collectors of this international art movement of the early 20th century.
The starting point for the presentation is a two-year research project by the State of Berlin and the SPK, which is investigating the provenance of the Ulla and Heiner Pietzsch Collection, a collection that is now part of the Neue Nationalgalerie's holdings. The exhibition traces the eventful paths of the paintings and sculptures, which ranged from Paris, the birthplace of the Surrealist movement, to Brussels and other European cities, through the years of National Socialism and the Second World War, to South America and exile in America. The biographies of the individual objects tell of friendships, collecting passions and trade connections as well as of loss, persecution and new beginnings. Beyond the history of the individual works, they provide an insight into the multifaceted networks of the Surrealist movement and the political challenges of the time.
October 17, 2025 to March 1, 2026
