What is the world – and what is it made of? Is there something that links everything together? The exhibition The Fifth Element: Works from the Kemp Collection is dedicated to the basic building blocks of nature and expands the classical theory of the four elements – earth, fire, water and air – to include an overarching dimension: the fifth element symbolises the unifying and visionary forces at work when grappling with the mysteries of the world.

The Kemp Collection
The Kemp Collection is one of the most outstanding German private collections of twentieth- and twenty-first-century art. Alongside abstract paintings, works by the ZERO group, sculptures and works on paper, exceptional works of Art Informel and colour field painting form the core of the collection, which was established by Willi Kemp together with his wife Ingrid, who sadly passed away at an early age. In 2011, around 3000 works were donated to the Kunstpalast and Kemp established the Kemp Collection Foundation for the research and mediation of the collection. His donation has significantly enriched the Kunstpalast collection and is regularly presented in exhibitions.

In her early years, art meant public action for Chris Reinecke (*1936). At the end of the 1960s, the artist, who studied and still lives in Düsseldorf, invited passers-by into her studio or carried out artistic performances on the street in order to reach as many people as possible. This exhibition shows objects, drawings and photos from this period, some of which are being presented for the first time.

Reinecke and her former husband, the artist Jörg Immendorff (1945-2007), rented a room in Pempelfort in 1968 where they organised exhibitions and events such as creative workshops for adults. Shortly afterwards, they founded the “Büro Olympia” in the city centre, which campaigned against the politically motivated promotion of high-performance sports. The place became a focal point for other political groups such as “Mietersolidarität” (“Tenant Solidarity”), which fought for rent control.

In her 1970 manifesto “Kunst Muss Sein” (“Art Is Necessary”), Reinecke explained her understanding of art as a democratic medium that should be open to all. In 2023, she donated a collection of early works to the Kunstpalast that visualise this way of thinking.

Curator: Gunda Luyken, Head of the Department of Prints and Drawings, Kunstpalast &
Claudia Petersen, Head of Prints and Drawings Study Room, Kunstpalast

In 2025, NRW-Forum, Kunstpalast, and Ehrenhof will once again host Germany’s largest exhibition organised by artists for artists. Outdoor sculptures will create a visual link between the two well-known art institutions in Düsseldorf.

Since 1902, the Verein zur Veranstaltung von Kunstausstellungen e.V. (Association for the Organisation of Art Exhibitions) has provided a unique platform for the exchange of ideas between artists, art enthusiasts and art buyers.

Visitors have the opportunity to purchase works directly on site, bypassing the gallery. The selection of participating artists is made each year by a rotating jury from a pool of numerous applications. Featured works include those in painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, installation and video.

Opening: 28 June 2025
Organization: Verein zur Veranstaltung von Kunstausstellungen e.V.

There have been female artists ever since there have been artists. Their visibility is linked to many, often local, conditions.

The exhibition presents 30 selected female artists who were active in Düsseldorf at a time when they were not allowed to study at the renowned art academy. Under these circumstances, pursuing a career as an artist required not only the financial means for private tuition but also a great deal of willpower. Although some women artists were astonishingly present in their time – including Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann, Marie Wiegmann and Paula Monjé – almost all of them are forgotten today. They are comparatively little represented in public collections, such as that of the Kunstpalast, and many of the works shown in this exhibition are being presented to the public for the first time since the 19th century.

Scents evoke direct emotional reactions more strongly than any other sense. From autumn 2025, the history of scent will be told for the first time in a major survey exhibition at the Kunstpalast. The Kunstpalast’s newly established display collection offers a chronological tour of over 1000 years of art and cultural history in 49 rooms. Scent steles, atomisers and diffusers distributed throughout the collection rooms create a close connection between the experience of art and smell. The exhibition thus offers a comprehensive sensory experience that not only teaches visitors a great deal about the secrets of scent, but also allows them to experience art in a completely new emotional way.

Curator: Robert Müller-Grünow, internationally renowned fragrance expert

What is art? Where does it begin and end? Who decides what art is? What makes an artist? These fundamental questions are at the heart of the work of Hans-Peter Feldmann (1941–2023), who is the subject of an extensive exhibition at the Kunstpalast in autumn 2025. The artist’s central themes were already evident in his early works and appear throughout his oeuvre: everyday life, social clichés, voyeurism, private and public spheres, the formation of taste, humour and satire, dreams and projections. From the very beginning of his career, Feldmann also systematically employed strategies of artistic appropriation, alienation and recontextualisation.

Comprising around 80 exhibits, the presentation clearly demonstrates the breadth of Feldmann’s oeuvre, from his early photographs from the 1970s to his sculptures using everyday objects, expansive installations and his more recent works, which will be on display in Düsseldorf for the first time. This is the first retrospective after Hans-Peter Feldmann’s death in May 2023 and the final exhibition in which he was actively involved

Curator: Felicity Korn, Head of the 20th and 21st Century Collection, Kunstpalast

After the Second World War, a young generation of designers emerged. With their love of experimenting with Italian design, they brought new ideas to Murano. Foreign trading houses, for example in France and the USA, exerted considerable influence, securing the operation of the production facilities through their regular orders.
A predominant product from the workshops is the vase, which has a utilitarian character and can also be considered a work of art in its own right.

The step towards free artistic sculpture was rarely taken. The Venetian artists Livio Seguso and Luciano Vistosi are the notable exceptions with their works that move away from the vase form. With their fascination for glass as a material, artists from all over the world, such as the sculptor Tony Cragg, are now turning their ideas into glass on Murano.
There are now workshops that work with artists in many countries. But “The Murano Mythos” still attracts visitors to Venice.

Curator: Dedo von Kerssenbrock-Krosigk, Kunstpalast