In Germany, art in architecture has a long tradition going back to the 1920s. After World War II, promoting art was a key cultural policy goal in both German states. Since the 1950s, many important German artists have been commissioned by the state to realize art in architecture projects, creating more than eight thousand artworks.
At the same time, many of these works are barely known because their locations are often not publically accessible. For the first time, this representative overview shows art in architecture projects created for state institutions in Germany and abroad both in the period 1949–1989 and since German reunification.
Around sixty selected works reflect Germany’s historical and political development and show how art in architecture projects contributed to representing the two German states until 1989 and what role it has played since reunification in the search for a new national identity.
Art in architecture is presented here as an integral part of architectural culture that makes key contributions to the quality and expressive potential of buildings.
As well as covering all forms of artistic expression, the exhibition also illustrates how they relate to the buildings in question in terms of both form and content. The show also includes films and interviews on the making of individual works.
Exhibition in the foyer of the Neues Museum – entry free of charge.
The foyer exhibition is a cooperation between Neues Museum and the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR).
An artwork by Swiss artist Rémy Zaugg (1943-2005) is integrated into the architecture of Neues Museum.
For more information, please visit our webpage about the architecture of the museum.