Nationalgalerie Berlin: ‘The Art of Society 1900-1945’

Ernst Kirchner’s “Potsdamer Platz” (1914)

By Debra Griboff

The Neue Nationalgalerie, part of the National Gallery of the Berlin State Museums, is exhibiting the provocative show “The Art of Society.”

The exhibit highlights 250 paintings and sculptures created between 1900 and 1945, a particularly exciting time in art movements. Artists in the show include Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, an esteemed German expressionist, Otto Dix, Hannah Höch and Lotte Laserstein.

The Bauhaus was also created in this period, mirroring the Weimer’s reign, from 1919-1933. Famous Bauhaus artists include Wassily Kandinsky, Lyonel Feininger and Josef Albers.

The art works debut during a chaotic time in the country, especially before and after WWI, during the Weimar Republic, the Nazis denouncement of “decadent art” leading up to and during WWII, as well as art of the Holocaust.

The exhibit posits the art as a reflection its social and political eras. The open floor plan was designed by celebrated architect Mies va de Rohe.

A solo show of artist Monica Bonvicini, “"I Do You" is also at the museum. Bonvicini observes public and private spaces through the prism of gender relationships, often underscoring the aesthetics of social and power structures. She also examines and reinterprets other artists, often uncovering displays of male chauvinism.

If You Go:

“The Art of Society” runs through July 2.
”If You Do” runs through April 30.
Neue Nationalgalerie, Potsdamer Str. 50, 10785 Berlin, Germany