On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the art collection of Berliner Volksbank and Stiftung Kunstforum Berliner Volksbank, the exhibition MENSCH BERLIN offers an impressive insight into one of the most extensive corporate collections of figurative art of the post-war period from 20 February to 22 June 2025. Here, artistic positions from the GDR and the former western part of Germany are juxtaposed.
Image above: Roland Nicolaus, Berliner Ensemble am Schiffbauerdamm – Panoramaansicht Berlin, 2005, Öl auf Leinwand 145 x 185 cm, Kunstsammlung der Berliner Volksbank K 1440 © Roland Nicolaus, Foto: Peter Adamik.
In line with the collection concept ‘Images of People – Images for People’ and Berlin cityscapes, MENSCH BERLIN reflects the transformation of the city and the German art scene in the area of tension between East and West, between division and reunification.
This change is also expressed through the monthly exchange of selected works during the exhibition period, which also brings the diversity of this special art collection to life.
The art collection was founded in 1985 by GrundkreditBank, which was taken over by Berliner Volksbank in 1999. The decision to initially purchase and present primarily art from the GDR was unusual for a West German company.
The consistent further development of the art collection over four decades and the now balanced relationship between East and West German art today ensures a unique bridging of artistic perspectives – from the Berlin and Leipzig schools, to the Neue Wilde and the alternative art scene in East Berlin.
MENSCH BERLIN not only traces the history of the art collection using highlights and works shown for the first time, but also encourages a discourse on the recognition of GDR art and the role of corporate collections in times of declining cultural funding.
Artists among others:
Gerhard Altenbourg, Horst Antes, Elvira Bach, Annemirl Bauer, Norbert Bisky, Gudrun Brüne, Luciano Castelli, Fritz Cremer, Rainer Fetting, Ellen Fuhr, Sabina Grzimek, Angela Hampel, Bernhard Heisig, Werner Heldt, K. H. Hödicke, Barbara Keidel, Klaus Killisch, Hans Laabs, Via Lewandowsky, Markus Lüpertz, Wolfgang Mattheuer, Harald Metzkes, Roland Nicolaus, Barbara Quandt, Cornelia Schleime, Ludwig Gabriel Schrieber, Willi Sitte, Gerd Sonntag, Erika Stürmer-Alex, Rolf Szymanski, Christian Toelke, Werner Tübke, Hans Vent, Ulla Walter, Trak Wendisch und viele, viele mehr.
WHEN?
Exhibition dates: Donnerstag, 20. Februar – Sontag, 22. Juni 2025
Opening hours: Dienstag – Sonntag, 10 – 18 Uhr
WHERE?
Stiftung Kunstforum Berliner Volksbank
Kaiserdamm 105
14057 Berlin
