Nine Dusseldorf Museums and Galleries Prepare for Dusseldorf’s Second Quadriennale
DUSSELDORF.- Art enthusiasts from Germany and abroad are looking forward to the second Quadriennale, which will open on September 10, 2010 and ends in January 2011. Nine Duesseldorf museums and galleries are preparing high quality exhibitions with considerable grants from the regional capital without which the ambitious exhibition plans would not be possible. Despite the general financial crisis, the city is supporting the Quadriennale with additional funds of approx. five million Euros. “With this Festival of Arts, the city with an extensive artistic tradition underscores its reputation as an international city of arts,” said Mayor Dirk Elbers.
Nam June Paik, “Fish Flies on Sky”, 1983-85. 3-Kanal-Videoinstallation. Measurements: Variable. ©Nam June Paik Estate. Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf.
Art in Duesseldorf
Over the last few decades, Duesseldorf has developed into an important centre for modern and contemporary art in Germany. Many new and established museums and galleries as well as exhibition events are prominent in the city on the banks of the Rhine. The world famous Kunstakademie forms the core of the museum landscape. Many internationally acclaimed artists have studied and taught there, for example Joseph Beuys and Bernd and Hilla Becher and their students. Artists such as Byars, Broodthaers and Paik were enticed by the city and have worked there. However, numerous names from the younger generation of artists made their start in Duesseldorf and are now established in the international art world.
Quadriennale 2010 – Kunstgegenwaertig
“Kunstgegenwaertig” – the title of this year’s Quadriennale 2010. Yesterday – Today – Tomorrow. In what light was art cast that defined life in Duesseldorf in the 60s, 70s and 80s and also thereafter? A retrospective of the rich creation of art from these years, a time in which Duesseldorf rose to become an international centre of the art scene and had an influence on art way beyond the borders of Germany, is the starting point for further questions that are explored in many exhibitions. What significance does this art still have today? How does the current situation of the art scene in Duesseldorf and the surrounding area present itself? And: What significance will contemporary art in Duesseldorf have in the future? Along with taking a retrospective “back to the roots” look, a critical appraisal and current self-positioning will be undertaken. Regional Minister for Culture Hans Georg Lohe on the thematic focus: “With a retrospective focus, the Quadriennale 2010 opens up a wide spectrum of contemporary art from the last 50 years, showing the multi-facetted interaction and the great international appeal of the Duesseldorf art scene. This is illuminated by the various exhibitions that never cease to amaze.”
The programme: a focus with many facets
The Quadriennale is already established as an important art event and in 2010 will also strengthen Duesseldorf’s position as a long-term centre of art. In an entirely new form, a total of nine Duesseldorf museums and galleries will take part in the Quadriennale 2010 with exhibitions. In addition to individual exhibitions in institutions such as the museum kunst palast that will be exhibiting works by Nam June Paik, the K20 that will be displaying a comprehensive selection of works by Joseph Beuys‘, or the Foundation Palace and Park Benrath with its James Lee Byars exhibition, there will also be group exhibitions. For example, the K21 will focus on art from the eighties, the NRW-Forum Duesseldorf will open with the “THE RED BULLY. Stephen Shore and the New Duesseldorf Photography 1971-87“ photography exhibition, and the Akademie-Galerie will transform its rooms into an extensive installation of drawings by Joseph Beuys, Anthony Cragg and Peter Doig and many more.
The Kunsthalle Duesseldorf’s contribution comprises two group exhibitions: In cooperation with KIT – Kunst im Tunnel, they are devoting themselves to the younger generations of Duesseldorf artists, displaying works by Katharina Grosse, Dirk Skreber and Björn Dahlem. In partnership with the Kunstverein fuer die Rheinlande und Westfalen, selected works by Marcel Broodthaers will be exhibited alongside current works by internationally renowned artists in the “La chambre de l’´éloge” exhibition.
For the first time the Julia Stoschek Collection, the imai – inter media institute with a Katharina Sieverding exhibition and the ZERO Foundation will also be taking part. With the title “germany premieres”, the Duesseldorf galleries will present the positions of artists whose works have until now never been shown in Germany and will again confirm their reputation as being at the forefront of the active art scene with joint opening ceremonies on the first weekend of September 2010.
The accompanying program: an impetus for further discussion and reflections
The many Quadriennale 2010 activities will be introduced by a symposium in the Robert-Schumann- Saal that will invite visitors and experts alike to engage in intensive debate about the forthcoming exhibitions and the thematic questions that they pose. Under the title “Objekte fuer alle und keinen” (”Objects for everybody and nobody”), the complex triangular artist-artwork-viewer relationship will be discussed within an avant-garde context. – The symposium will take place on September 8th and 9th, 2010 in the Robert-Schumann-Saal.
Quadriennale GmbH
The City of Duesseldorf founded the Quadriennale GmbH in late 2008 to create sustainable content positioning and to ensure practical organisation of the Quadriennale. The Regional Minister for Culture, Hans-Georg Lohe, and Angela Eckert-Schweizer were elected as managing directors. The Chairman of the Supervisory Board is Mayor Dirk Elbers.
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