What's on at Europe's Museums
July 19, 2004
Searching for America
German Historical Museum, Berlin
"American Portraits" is the name of a new photography exhibition at the German Historical Museum in Berlin. Over a period of seven years, Reiner Leist traveled across the US and talked with descendants of the original inhabitants of the country, with people living for generations in the USA and with new immigrants. He photographed 34 people across the country for the exhibition and also asked them for a childhood photo. Those portrayed also wrote short statements about wishes and hopes they were having at the time the photograph was taken and the experiences they made in their lives as time went on. Leist describes his project as “the work on a kind of fragmentary map, a 'new world', laid out in geographical breadth and biographical depth”.
"American Portraits" runs through Oct. 13. and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Artist and his Patron
Vienna Museum
As a figure head of the Austrian Expressionist movement, Egon Schiele (1890 - 1918) is one of the better known modern artists. The same isn’t true for Arthur Roessler (1877 -1955), even though the publicist and art historian played an important role in getting Schiele's career started. Roessler was one of the first to notice Schiele's talent and became a key sponsor of the artist. A new exhibition called "Schiele & Rossler. The artist and his patron" at the Vienna Museum now looks at the relationship between the two men.
"Schiele & Roessler" runs through Oct. 10 and is open Tuesday to Sunday and on holidays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Art for Sale
Cas Pellers, Mallorca
About 60 works of internationally known artists as well as young talents are currently on display at the "Artseasons" exhibition in Cas Pellers, a former tannery on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca. Paintings and sculptures have been submitted by art galleries in New York, London, Berlin and Cologne, and many are for sale. Georg Baselitz, Barry McGee, David Zink Yi und Frank Stella are among those whose work is included in the exhibition, which also features many local artists.
Artseasons runs through Sept. 12 and is open Thursday through Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Novelist as Sculptor
Paulinerkirche, Göttingen
German Nobel Laureate Günter Grass has been working as a visual artists for many years, but for the first time, an exhibition of more than 100 bronze and terracotta sculptures by Grass are now on display at the Paulinerkirche in Göttingen in central Germany. Also included are drawings that correspond with the sculptures that came into existence "in quiet, in the slipstream of literature," according to Grass. The exhibition also includes displays that explain how Grass' sculptures come into existence.
"Günter Grass. Bronzes -- Terracotta. Works on Paper" runs through Sept. 19 and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.