Mixed Media (III)

About Architecture. Joachim Brohm in Dialog

EXHIBITION Sep 19, 2017 — Feb 2, 2018

JOACHIM BROHM (*1955)

Moholy-Nagy House, Window, from the group 'State of M.', 2015

archival pigment print on alu-dibond

135 x 110 cm

© Joachim Brohm / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2017 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

KARL HUGO SCHMÖLZ (1917–1986)

Untitled (Architecture, Foyer), 1960s

gelatin silver print, mounted

32,2 x 27,8 cm

© Archiv Wim Cox, Cologne / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

WERNER MANTZ (1901–1983)

Warenhaus Sinn, Gelsenkirchen, Architekt Bruno Paul, 1928

gelatin silver print, mounted to cardboard

17 x 22,5 cm

© Werner Mantz / Nederlands Fotomuseum / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

VKHUTEMAS WORKSHOPS

Untitled (VKhUTEMAS, IIV-5-22; An exercise on flat rhythmical composition), 1920s

gelatin silver print

7 x 9,8 cm

© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

ENRICO PRAMPOLINI (1894–1956)

Untitled (Draft for the Italian Pavilion at Chicago World's Fair), 1933

charcoal on laid paper, mounted to cardboard

36,4 x 49,3 cm

© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

BAUHAUS / ANONYMOUS

Untitled (Church of Saint Anthony and Gattamelata Monument by Donatello, Padua), 1928 - 1932

collage of 7 gelatin silver prints

20,3 x 13,3 cm

© Public Domain / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

AUGUST SANDER (1876–1964)

Untitled (Hans Walter Reitz, Building Corner of Gleueler Street, Cologne-Lindenthal), ca. 1929-1932

gelatin silver print on postcard stock

12,4 x 8,4 cm

© Die Photographische Sammlung / SK Stiftung Kultur – August Sander Archiv, Köln; VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2017 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

HAJO ROSE (1910–1989)

Self-portrait (photomontage), from Bauhaus Portfolio I, 1919-1933 / 1985

gelatin silver print, printed 1985

23,9 x 17,8 cm

© Rudolf Kicken Galerie, Cologne 1985

ENRICO PRAMPOLINI (1894–1956)

N. 3 Scarabocchio Embrionale, 1914

drawing; china ink on Fabriano laid paper with watermark

21,8 x 29,4 cm

© Estate of the Artist

HERMANN FINSTERLIN (1887–1973)

Architektonischer Grundtyp 'Gopura' aus dem 'Stilspiel' / Basic Architectural Type 'Gopura' from 'Game of Styles', 1921 - 1922, 1921 - 1922

One object in ten parts from altogether eight prototype objects, painted wood

22 x 20,5 x 12 cm

© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2017 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

HERMANN FINSTERLIN (1887–1973)

Untitled (Architectural Drawing - Two Architectural Designs), 1916

pencil, ink and watercolour on paper, mounted on cardboard

36,8 x 29,8 cm

© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2017 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

BERND UND HILLA BECHER (1931–2007; 1934–2015)

Coal Tipples, Goodspring, PA, 1975

4 gelatin silver prints, mounted

40,6 x 49,5 cm

© Estate Bernd & Hilla Becher / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

V KHUTEMAS WORKSHOPS

Untitled (Vkhutemas IV-5-37, Spatial Study; An exercise on expressive dynamic composition), 1920s

gelatin silver print on postcard stock

7,8 x 5,6 cm

© Estate of the Artist

BERND UND HILLA BECHER (1931–2007; 1934–2015)

Wasserturm Trier-Ehrang / Water Tower Trier-Ehrang, 1982

gelatin silver print

21 x 16,3 cm

© Estate Bernd & Hilla Becher

ED VAN DER ELSKEN (1925–1990)

Interior, Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1961

gelatin silver print

20,5 x 30,5 cm

Nederlands Fotomuseum, Rotterdam © Ed van der Elsken / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

VKHUTEMAS WORKSHOPS

Untitled (VKhUTEMAS, IV-5-52; An exercise on rhythmical frontal composition), 1920s

gelatin silver print

6,8 x 10,3 cm

© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

HANS POELZIG (1869–1936)

Untitled (Unidentified Façade Sketch), ca. 1919 - 1925

pencil on paper

19,3 x 26,9 cm

© Public Domain / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

ERICH MENDELSOHN (1887–1953)

Untitled (Einstein Tower Model, Potsdam, 1917-1921), ca. 1995

plaster, replica of model from 1950-85 by Modellbau Ulrich Höhn, Plonheim

60 x 25 x 36 cm

© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

FRANZ EHRLICH (1907–1984)

Untitled (Construction of the Ellipse), ca. 1930

oil on canvas

79 x 68,5 cm

© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

LUCIA MOHOLY (1894–1989)

Wohnhaus Gropius in der Bauhausmeistersiedlung, von Westen, 1926

gelatin silver print on postcard stock

8,4 x 11,6 cm

© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2017 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

ERICH MENDELSOHN (1887–1953)

Haus Aron. Kastanienallee 8. Umbau / House Aron. Kastanienallee 8. Conversion, ca. 1925 - 1926

pencil and coloured pencil on paper

ca. 10 x 18,4 cm

© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

VKHUTEMAS WORKSHOPS

Untitled (VKhUTEMAS, IV-5-22; An exercise on rhythmical frontal composition), 1920s

gelatin silver print on postcard stock

11,5 x 16 cm

© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

KURT SCHWITTERS (1887–1948)

Normalbühne Merz, ca. 1925 - 1926

gelatin silver print

5,6 x 8 cm

© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2017 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

ZDENEK ROSSMANN (1905–1984)

Untitled (Draft for a Stage Design), ca. 1929-1932

water color over pencil and collage on paper, mounted under mat of black paper

18,3 x 16 cm

© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

VKHUTEMAS WORKSHOPS

Untitled (Architectural Study, IV-5-36; An exercise on volumetric composition, study of correlation between mass and weight), 1920s

gelatin silver print

8,4 x 7 cm

© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

ANONYMOUS

Trinkhalle, Dessau (Architekten Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Eduard Ludwig), 1932

2 gelatin silver prints

5,7 x 8,3 cm (each)

© Public Domain / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

VKHUTEMAS WORKSHOPS

Untitled (VKhUTEMAS, IV-5-17; An exercise on the topic 'plain surface': logical segmentation of the surface), 1920s

gelatin silver print

3,8 x 5 cm

© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

BAUATELIER WALTER GROPIUS

Theaterumbau Jena, Nebeneingang, Detail (Architekt Walter Gropius) / Theatre Modification Jena, Side Entrance, Detail (Architect Walter Gropius, 1927

gelatin silver print

17 x 22,2 cm

© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

LÁSZLÓ MOHOLY-NAGY (1895–1946)

Composition GZ IV, 1932

gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1932

15,7 x 19,4 cm

© Hattula Moholy-Nagy; VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2017 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

JOACHIM BROHM (*1955)

Gropius House, Dessau, from the group 'State of M.', 2015

archival pigment print on alu-dibond

150 x 180 cm

© Joachim Brohm / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2017 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

JOACHIM BROHM (*1955)

Moholy-Nagy House, Dessau, Detail, from the group 'State of M.', 2015

archival pigment print on alu-dibond

92 x 110 cm

© Joachim Brohm / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2017 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

ALBERT VENNEMANN

Hans Poelzig. Deli - Kino. Breslau, 1920s

gelatin silver print, hand coloured

17 x 23 cm

© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

HERMANN FINSTERLIN (1887–1973)

Untitled (Architectural Drawing - Two Architectural Design), 1919

pencil, ink and watercolour on paper, mounted on cardboard

38,8 x 30 cm

© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2017 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

ALBERT RENGER PATZSCH (1879–1966)

Topas, Pyramidenschleifen, ca. 1923-29

gelatin silver print

23 x 17 cm

© Albert Renger-Patzsch / Archiv Ann und Jürgen Wilde, Zülpich / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2017 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

EDMOND VAN DOOREN (1896–1965)

Babel (Architekturutopie / Architectural Utopia), 1930s

pencil, ink and charcoal on paper, mounted on hardboard

50,5 x 46,5 cm

© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2017 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

AUGUST SANDER (1876–1964)

Untitled (Gleueler Street, Cologne-Lindenthal, Architect Hans Walter Reitz), ca. 1929-1932

gelatin silver print on postcard stock

22,6 x 16,7 cm

© Die Photographische Sammlung / SK Stiftung Kultur – August Sander Archiv, Köln; VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2017 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

JOACHIM BROHM (*1955)

C V, from the series 'Mies Model Study', 2013

archival pigment print on Alu-Dibond

135 x 110 cm

© Joachim Brohm / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2017 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

VKHUTEMAS WORKSHOPS

Untitled (Architectural Design, IV-5-22; An exercise on architectonics of frontal composition), 1920s

gelatin silver print

4,4 x 13,9 cm

© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

VKHUTEMAS WORKSHOPS

Untitled (VKhUTEMAS, IV-5-30; An exercise on frontal composition), 1920s

gelatin silver print

5,2 x 7,7 cm

© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

VKHUTEMAS WORKSHOPS

Untitled (Architectural Design IV-5-29; An exercise on frontal composition within deep space), 1920s

gelatin silver print

7,8 x 5,7 cm

© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

VKHUTEMAS WORKSHOPS

Untitled (Spatial Study, IV-5-37; An exercise on expressive volumetric composition), 1920s

gelatin silver print

7,8 x 5,6 cm

© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

The series MIXED MEDIA, which Kicken Berlin has curated since 2015, presents various media of modernist art of the twentieth century in dialog with one another: photography, painting, drawing, graphic art, and sculpture. Following the themes of portraiture (2015) and abstraction (2016), the third exhibition now turns to architecture, encompassing a diverse range of artistic forms, from sketches to sculptural models. Some of the avant-garde’s primary ideas are manifest in architecture and its aesthetics. Revolutionary ideas and innovation as well as technical and industrial developments accounted for historical rejections at the beginning of the century. Institutions like the Werkbund and the Bauhaus propagated a culture of design that infiltrated every aspect of life, and artists of all kinds had their sights on both social and artistic renewal. Utopia was the goal, and futuristic designs broke from reality. Expressionism, Futurism, and Constructivism manifested themselves architecturally in free, atmospheric and impressionistic plans; in strictly geometric color blocking; in the plasticity of a plant; in architectural photographs that emphasized lines, surfaces, and cubes. In the current exhibition MIXED MEDIA (III), new works from Joachim Brohm’s series Mies Model Study and State of M. are the jumping-off point for a dialog between photographs, drawings, and models by various artists and architects, including Erich Mendelsohn, Walter Gropius and Hans Poelzig, Enrico Prampolini and Hermann Finsterlin, László Moholy-Nagy and Lucia Moholy, Werner Mantz, Albert Renger-Patzsch and August Sander, as well as works from legendary schools such as the Bauhaus and the Russian Vkhutemas. Their works give expression to the clear and objective structure of Neues Bauen (New Building) while others illustrate the organic and dynamic ideas behind expressive and futuristic Utopias. An echo of these can be heard in the later forms of industrial architecture in works by Bernd and Hilla Becher. Joachim Brohm, who in his earlier works looked at the urban landscape of industrial places and their changes (such as in the Ruhr and in the US), turns in State of M. and Mies Model Study to architectural modernism: the Meisterhäuser at the Dessau Bauhaus, Mies van der Rohe’s Villa Tugendhat, and the 1:1 model of a golf club in Krefeld, amongst others. Transparency, directed light, linearity, volumes, and surfaces are the parameters that determine Brohm’s interpretations of the iconic buildings and designs. In the exhibition, his visual declinations encounter works of Neue Sachlichkeit and Neues Sehen, Czech Modernism, and the workshops of the Bauhaus and Vkhutemas with their proximity to Constructivism and its strict geometry.
Artists’ intellectual and aesthetic search for forms reflective of the times – the “from-the-ground-up newly built world of beauty,” as Walter Gropius wrote in 1919 for the Ausstellung unbekannter Architekten (Exhibition of Unknown Architects) – becomes particularly visible in the interplay of the various arts. Keywords were energy and dynamism, abstraction and immaterialization, and always light, which was equally crucial for artists as different as Erich Mendelsohn and László Moholy-Nagy. Here lie the connections among photography and architecture, drawing and sculpture. (Carolin Förster)