ExhibitionS 2024
Press Release
Download Press ReleasePlease note: The use of the image material is only permitted free of charge in connection with current journalistic reporting on the relevant exhibitions and events, provided the copyright is named. Cropping of the illustrations is not permitted.
Size Matters: Scale in Photography
1 February to 20 May 2024
Any tinkering with size in an image is bound to alter our perception of it completely: objects are accentuated, plucked out of context, magnified and reinterpreted. They draw closer, inviting scrutiny, or dissolve into a blur before our eyes. Size Matters: Scale in Photography illuminates the significant and often overlooked semantic shifts that accompany changes to scale in photography. Of all media, photography is the most adept at adjusting its scale; it can effortlessly expand to become a large-size image on a museum wall but is equally capable of shrinking to a thumbnail on a smartphone screen. It creates miniatures of the world, depicting things both life-size and larger than life, making the invisible visible. The exhibition shows how it is precisely this unique ability to navigate dimensions that explains the effectiveness of the medium in cultural, social and political contexts. Artworks from the late 19th century to the present encourage contemplation of the implications of size for how we perceive and interact with photographic images. The presentation draws on the Kunstpalast’s own collection and is enriched by national and international loans that complement the curated selection of works.
Tony Cragg: Please touch!
22 February to 26 May 2024
Sculptures are meant to be touched. And yet this “touching” is seldom allowed in museums, usually for reasons of conservation. In collaboration with the English sculptor Tony Cragg (*1948), the Kunstpalast presents an exhibition that focuses on the tactile appeal of his sculptures. This is the first comprehensive exhibition of its kind in a German museum. Visitors will be able to run their hands over the sculptures, feel the contours and get a sense of their surfaces.
Delving into the material world and revealing its possibilities is a central focus of Tony Cragg’s work. Please touch! vividly demonstrates his fascination with the fusion of material and meaning. It offers a glimpse over the sculptor’s shoulder, giving insight into his creative process and enabling visitors to experience his work with all their senses.
DIE KLEINE
27 April to 26 May 2024
DIE KLEINE is the closing exhibition of the art competition for primary schools, which will be held for the fifth time in 2024. Open to all primary schools in Düsseldorf and the surrounding region, the competition aims to unleash the creativity of young schoolchildren and give them the opportunity to experience the museum as an enriching extracurricular learning space.
This year’s theme explores the connection between art and sport: “Ready, set, go! DIE KLEINE and sport”. Children can work in any medium, be it painting, collage, objects, photography or film. All submitted artworks will be on view in the closing exhibition. DIE KLEINE is arranged under the auspices of the Mayor of Düsseldorf, Dr Stephan Keller
Please note: The use of the image material is only permitted free of charge in connection with current journalistic reporting on the relevant exhibitions and events, provided the copyright is named. Cropping of the illustrations is not permitted.
23 June to 28 July 2024
In 2024, Kunstpalast, NRW-Forum 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.
Gerhard Richter. Hidden Gems
Works from Rhenish Private Collections
5 September 2024 to 2 February 2025
The exhibition Gerhard Richter: Hidden Treasures shifts the focus to the Rhineland as the ideal milieu to support Gerhard Richter’s artistic trajectory following his move from Dresden in 1961. It was here that he encountered kindred spirits including Sigmar Polke and Konrad Lueg, as well as influential figures such as Joseph Beuys, and eventually encountered a curious and dynamic community of collectors gathered around the burgeoning galleries of Düsseldorf and Cologne.
With around 100 works from 40 private collections, the exhibition offers a comprehensive insight into all facets of the artist’s oeuvre, from early paintings inspired by photographic sources to the late abstract works that marked the culmination of Gerhard Richter’s exploratory painting in 2017. The works on display were purchased early on by dedicated collectors and later also acquired by prominent corporations; some were exchanged between fellow artists, like the Kissenbild (Pillow Picture) from the estate of Gotthard Graubner; still more were passed on to a younger generation.
The tradition of collecting remains alive and well in the Rhineland and now encompasses the entire spectrum of Gerhard Richter’s art.
Colour in Focus
October 2024 to January 2025
This exhibition focuses on one of painting’s foundational concepts: colour. Drawing on various trends in American and German Colour Field painting of the 1960s, including the work artists such as Gene Davis, Rupprecht Geiger, Kenneth Noland and Jules Olitski, the exhibition asserts that colour itself is a distinct subject matter in art. Contemporary artists such as Sarah Braman, Julia Gruner, Barbara Herbert, Ioan Iacob and Jörn Stoya explore the various layers of meaning that colour can convey. The exhibition comprises some 70 works, drawn primarily from the Kemp Collection Foundation, complemented by additional pieces from the Kunstpalast collection.