With two important works by Ellsworth Kelly and Mario Merz, the Nationalgalerie’s collection is being substantially expanded. Both works come from the Lafrenz Collection, which is characterized by its focus on the art of the 1960s and 1970s and includes central works of Minimal Art, Arte Povera, Post Painterly Abstraction and Conceptual Art. The works will be on display from July 9, 2025 in the collection presentation “Zerreißprobe. Art between politics and society. Collection of the Nationalgalerie 1945 – 2000”.
Image above: Mario Merz, Gambe che corrono, 1967/1980, Schenkung Sammlung Lafrenz, Neue Nationalgalerie – Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Foto: Museum Wiesbaden.
The monumental work “Gambe che corrono” (1967/1980) by the Italian artist Mario Merz (1925-2003) has been donated to the collection. It will be shown in the “Nature & Culture” exhibition room. The installation consists of a wall-sized canvas showing several schematic human legs arranged next to and on top of each other – all in motion, all pointing in the same direction. The leg fragments are painted and drawn; shimmering blue neon numbers glow mysteriously on them. In front of them, tightly bundled willow rods stand like a natural fence, revealing the picture in different ways depending on how they are arranged.
Merz, co-founder of Arte Povera, combines industrial materials with natural forms and opens up a complex field of tension between energy and limitation, movement and resistance. The work complements the existing collection of works by the artist, including the fragile newspaper installation “Giornale Il resto del Carlino del maggio 1976” (1976), a glass igloo (1972) and a monumental stone igloo (1990). The work “Gambe che Corrone”, which extends far into the room, is a substantial addition and further consolidates the focus on Arte Povera in the collection of the Neue Nationalgalerie.
On permanent loan, the work “Untitled, EK 689” (1983) by Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015) will be shown in the “The performative image” section of the collection presentation. It is one of the American artist’s major and most radical works. The dynamically curved wedge shape, which reaches down to the floor, not only strikingly breaks up the idea of a static image. Above all, the placement of the heavy metal work on the floor transforms the picture into a sculpture, pointing to an idea of art that does not remain distanced “on the wall”, but clearly penetrates the viewer’s real space. Depending on the viewer’s point of view, the relationship between surface and form changes; at the moment of physical participation, the painting becomes a spatial-performative experience.
Both works expand the already broad and diverse retrospective of art after 1945 in the collection presentation. Following recent additions with works by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Christoph Schlingensief, Maria Lassnig, Ewa Partum and Cornelia Schleime, this not only strengthens the collection in the long term, but also further deepens the thematic profile of the permanent exhibition “Zerreißprobe”. Through changing additions to the collection presentation, the Neue Nationalgalerie constantly offers its visitors new insights and opportunities for discovery.
“In times when there are no state funds available for acquisitions, the Neue Nationalgalerie is particularly grateful for the private commitment of supporters and patrons such as the Lafrenz family,” says Joachim Jäger, Deputy Director and Head of Collections at the Neue Nationalgalerie.
Since the early 1970s, Klaus Lafrenz (1940-1999) collected works of art that represent central positions of post-painterly abstraction, minimal art, Arte Povera and conceptual art in Europe and the United States. After the death of his father, Björn Lafrenz continued the collection. The Lafrenz Collection regularly cooperates with public museums in order to make the works accessible to a broad public.
“As the Lafrenz Collection, we see it as our task to permanently anchor key works in renowned museums and make them accessible to the public in the long term,” says Björn Lafrenz. “We particularly enjoy researching the history of each work together and the spatial interaction with the museum’s own works in a sophisticated architectural setting. We are also happy to accompany the development of berlin modern in this way.”
“Torn test. Art between politics and society. Collection of the Nationalgalerie 1945 – 2000” is curated by Joachim Jäger, Deputy Director of the Neue Nationalgalerie, Maike Steinkamp, Research Associate at the Neue Nationalgalerie, and Marta Smolińska, Professor of Art History at the Magdalena Abakanowicz University of the Arts in Poznań.
WHEN?
From July 9, 2025
Opening hours:
Tue – Wed 10 am – 6 pm
Thu 10 am – 8 pm
Fri – Sun 10 am – 6 pm
WHERE?
Kulturforum Berlin, Neue Nationalgalerie
Potsdamer Straße 50
10785 Berlin
COST?
Regular: 20 EUR
Reduced: 10 EUR
