On the occasion of Dieter and Hilde Scharf’s 100th birthday, the exhibition highlights the passion for collecting shared by the couple and their daughter Julietta Scharf. From 19. December, numerous works that are not part of the collection and have been on permanent loan to the National Gallery in Berlin-Charlottenburg since 2008 under the name Scharf-Gerstenberg Collection have been on display for the first time.
Image above: Max Beckmann (Leipzig 1884 – 1950 New York), Paar, 1938, Aquarell und Gouache auf Büttenpapier, 61,5 × 48,5 cm (Blatt), Sammlung Julietta Scharf, Photo: Sammlung Julietta Scharf.
Based on the renowned collection of his grandfather Otto Gerstenberg (1848–1935), Dieter Scharf established a foundation in 2001, from whose holdings he selected around 350 works for the Scharf-Gerstenberg Collection. Surrealism was the focus of his collecting interests, but its precursors and successors are also represented. Spread over two floors, the collection rooms unfold a comprehensive panorama of fantastic art – from works by Goya, Piranesi and Redon to Jean Dubuffet’s Art Brut.
Thematically, the exhibition ‘Possibilities of an Island’ transcends the expanded concept of surrealism in the Scharf-Gerstenberg Collection. Two floor works by Swiss artist Kavata Mbiti provide an exciting start: the eponymous sculpture made of white acrylic glass, ‘Possibilities of an Island I,’ and the three-part black woodwork ‘Kiel.’ While the former is reminiscent of biomorphic forms by artists such as Hans Arp or Hans Bellmer and appears to be a self-generating, semi-abstract creature, the latter evokes associations with menacingly circling sharks whose dorsal fins protrude from the water.
Where danger exists, salvation also reveals itself – and so the exhibition unfolds an entire archipelago of thematic islands. Twelve chapters present different artistic strategies for coping with the impositions of everyday life: through retreat into idyll, privacy or other times, through the construction of one’s own visual worlds, through fragile systems, fantastic escapes or an ironic approach to the greatest fear – death.
On display are around 150 paintings and watercolours, drawings, prints, sculptures and objects. In addition to well-known artists such as Alfred Sisley, Auguste Renoir, Egon Schiele, Max Beckmann and Hannah Höch, lesser-known figures in the field of fantastic art are also presented, including works by Alfred Kubin, Léon Spilliaert and Unica Zürn.
The Alte Nationalgalerie is offering additional insight into the Scharf family’s collections until 15 February 2026. There, too, the spectrum ranges from Goya to contemporary art. While Dieter Scharf – like his daughter Julietta later on – focused his collection on Surrealism, his brother Walther Scharf and his son René concentrated on Impressionism and classical modernism with the ‘Scharf Collection’.
‘Possibilities of an Island: Thinking in Images from Gerstenberg to Scharf’ is curated by Kyllikki Zacharias, director of the Scharf-Gerstenberg Collection.
A catalogue accompanying the exhibition will be published, comprising 192 pages, richly illustrated, with an interview with Julietta Scharf and an essay by Dario Gamboni.
WHEN?
Opening: Thursday, 18. December 2025, 7 pm
Exhibition dates: Friday, 19. December until Sunday, 03. May 2026
Opening hours: Wednesday – Sunday 11 am – 6 pm
WHERE?
Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg
Schloßstraße 70
14059 Berlin-Charlottenburg
