original bauhaus

The Bauhaus existed for only 14 years in Germany, but for 100 years its ideas have now been passed on and its products relaunched, imitated and further developed. Marking the centenary of the Bauhaus’s founding, the Bauhaus-Archiv / Museum für Gestaltung’s exhibition at the Berlinische Galerie is presenting more than 1,000 famous, familiar and forgotten Bauhaus originals and recounting the history behind the objects. original bauhaus will feature art and design from the holdings of the Bauhaus-Archiv, exceptional loans from international collections and artistic positions which take a new look at the Bauhaus legacy.

On the basis of 14 key objects, the exhibition will develop 14 case histories: How did the woman sitting on the tubular-steel chair become the most famous anonymous figure from the Bauhaus? Does the Haus Am Horn in Weimar have a secret twin? Why have Marianne Brandt’s tea infusers which were created as prototypes for industrial production always remained one-of-a-kind pieces? original bauhaus sheds light on how unique work and series, remake and original are inseparably linked in the history of the Bauhaus. This is because Bauhaus artists did not see art and technology as opposed to each other. Instead, they used technical innovations to create exceptional works of art, and they took serial production into account from the moment they began drafting their designs. Today there have been almost 100 years of responses to the Bauhaus, as compared to 14 years of Bauhaus production. Reproductions, re-editions and remakes have made the Bauhaus the 20th century’s most influential school of architecture, design and art.

Inclusive exhibition stations allow visitors to experience the tactile qualities of Bauhaus objects. In cooperation with the Bauhaus Agents programme, the exhibition invites visitors to try exercises from the preliminary course of the Bauhaus. International experts from the fields of dance, paper art, photography, architecture or Breathology will be offering “preliminary course” workshops every Sunday.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a symposium, artist talks and Bauhaus movie nights. The forthcoming publications include an exhibition catalogue and the original bauhaus Exercise Book—the first-ever compilation of the most important exercises from the preliminary course.

The centenary exhibition by Berlin’s Bauhaus-Archiv / Museum für Gestaltung in cooperation with the Berlinische Galerie is supported by the Senate Department for Culture and Europe and the German Federal Cultural Foundation.

original bauhaus is on at Berlinische Galerie, Alte Jakobstrasse 124-128, Berlin, Germany, from September 6, 2019 to January 27, 2020.