Traveling to art

Joan Miró in Bilbao, Gerhard Richter in Berlin and Pablo Picasso from Münster to Madrid

This spring, unique artists are tempting us to take unique city trips. Where should the next trip go? Our art columnist Jörg Bertram has a few very special tips ...


Gerhard Richter in Berlin

Painter, sculptor, photographer - Gerhard Richter is one of the most important artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. And also an extremely generous person. "Beautiful" proof: the 100 works that the 91-year-old has given to the Neue Nationalgalerie for the next three years! The central work in the exhibition is the "Birkenau" cycle from 2014, based on photographs from the concentration camp of the same name, which the artist transferred to canvas and then painted over until the motifs were no longer recognizable. There is no more impressive way to express the confrontation with the (non-)representability of the Holocaust. In addition, iconic works such as "Occupied House", "6 Standing Panes" and "4,900 Colors" can also be seen in "100 Works for Berlin". It opened in March this year.
www.smb.museum


Erwin Wurm in the park

The best place for a sunny spring day? An English country park! My absolute favorite is located about 180 miles north of London, very close to Leeds. What makes the historic Yorkshire Sculpture Park so special for me? The eclectic mix of centuries-old garden art and modern sculptures. Not only hydrangeas and roses, but also works by Henry Moore, Dennis Oppenheim and Thomas J. Price can be admired on the 200-hectare site. From June 10, Austrian artist Erwin Wurm will also be occupying part of the park with new sculptures from his "Skins" and "Avatar" series.
In his first museum exhibition in the UK, the inventor of the "One Minute Sculptures" explores clothing as a second skin.
www.ysp.org.uk


Women's power for Frankfurt:


Niki de Saint Phalle

Round, colorful - and of a supposed "pleasantness", behind which the explosiveness often only reveals itself at second (or third) glance: The works of Niki de Saint Phalle, creator of the famous "Nana" figures and main representative of European Pop Art, are not only a plea for the feminine, but also always question social conventions. Until 21 May 2023, the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt is showing around 100 of her works, which also deal with violence and war, the right to abortion and the stigmatization caused by Aids.
www.schirn.de


Vienna shows the great masters of printmaking

From Albrecht Dürer and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec to Kiki Smith and Damien Hirst: In a unique show, the Albertina in Vienna is presenting a cross-section of the history of printmaking - at two locations at once. While the "Great Masters of Printmaking" can be seen in the time-honored ambience of the main building near the State Opera, the "Revolution in Printmaking" is on display opposite the Vienna Musikverein in the Albertina Modern. Both exhibitions are open until May 14, 2023.
www.albertina.com


Picasso worldwide

Guernica, the Dove of Peace, but also the cubist portraits of women and still lifes: Pablo Picasso has shaped our view of modern art like no other artist. To mark the 50th anniversary of his death on April 8, 2023, a number of top-class exhibitions are commemorating this exceptional artist. For example, the National Museum Picasso - Paris in the French capital is presenting a show entitled "La collection prend des couleurs" until August 6, 2023.
It has been staged by the museum's new chief curator, British fashion designer Paul Smith, in a refreshingly new way that is absolutely worth seeing.
A total of 14 exhibitions are on the program in Picasso's home country of Spain. Highlights include "Picasso - El Greco" at the Prado in Madrid (June 13 to September 17, 2023) and "Picasso: Body and Matter" at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (from September 29, 2023). The Pablo Picasso Münster Art Museum, which is presenting the exhibition "Zum Zeigen geben" in its anniversary year (until May 7, 2023), is small, fine - and a little underrated.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York is dedicated to the early days of the artistic genius. "The Young Picasso in Paris" can be seen there from May 5 to August 7, 2023. And even further afield, in faraway Japan, the rather unknown but absolutely worth seeing Yoku Moku Museum in Tokyo is focusing on Picasso's ceramic works with its exhibition "The Modern Touch" (until September 24, 2023).
www.museepicasso.fr www.museodelprado.es www.guggenheim-bilbao.es www.kunstmuseum-picasso-muenster.de www.guggenheim.org www.yokumokumuseum.com


EXCEPT SEE ALSO ...


AMSTERDAM
JOHANNES VERMEER: THE GOLDEN AGE AND ITS FAMOUS MASTERS
(until 04.06.23)
Rijksmuseum
www.rijksmuseum.nl
Vermeer created just 37 works during his lifetime. 28 of them can be seen in this exhibition of the century! No wonder the Rijksmuseum is so popular and all tickets are currently sold out. However, work is already underway to extend the opening hours.

DÜSSELDORF
JENNY HOLZER
(until 06.08.23)
Art collection
North Rhine-Westphalia
www.kunstsammlung.de
The US-American conceptual and installation artist Jenny Holzer became famous for her ribbons of writing and LED installations, which were often on display in public spaces.
In Düsseldorf, however, the focus is on Holzer's paintings, posters and stone works.

NEW YORK
KARL LAGERFELD - A LINE OF BEAUTY
(05.05. - 16.07.23)
Metropolitan Museum
www.metmuseum.org
The creative genius Karl Lagerfeld died four years ago. The Metropolitan Museum in New York is now dedicating an exhibition to his fashion - from his beginnings in the 1950s to his last collection in 2019. The exhibition opening is taking place as part of the glamorous Met Gala.

INNSBRUCK
EERILY BEAUTIFUL 2.0
(22.06 - 31.10.23)
Ambras Castle
www.schlossambras-innsbruck.at
Fancy an "eerily beautiful" mountain trip? Then the oldest museum in the world might just be the right place for a weekend trip. From early summer, dark creations, demons and hybrid creatures are on display here, exploring the meaning and symbolism of ancient myths.

PARIS
MANET / DEGAS
Musée d'Orsay
(until 23.07.23)
www.musee-orsay.fr
Paris in spring is always worth a trip. The trip is even more worthwhile if you visit the Musée d'Orsay this year to see this exhibition, which juxtaposes two protagonists of painting from the 1860s to 1880s.

AMSTERDAM
ARTZUID
(19.05. - 22.09.23)
Amsterdam South City
www.artzuid.nl
Unfortunately, fans of major art biennials will be offered next to nothing this year. A notable exception is the Artzuid, a 5 km long route through Amsterdam's South City. Around 90 sculptures by Nicole Eisenmann, Sarah Lucas, Erwin Wurm, Jaume Plensa, Leiko Ikemura and other contemporary artists can be admired here in public spaces.