Isa Genzken: Works from 1973 to 1983 / Isa Genzken : Here and Now / Christoph Schlingensief: Kaprow City / Everyone Is an Artist: Cosmopolitical Exercises with Joseph Beuys

We are very delighted to welcome you back with an extensive exhibition program in both our venues K20 and K21.

Everyone Is an Artist: Cosmopolitical Exercises with Joseph Beuys
March 25 – August 15, 2021
K20
As a draftsman, sculptor, teacher, politician, and activist, as well as action and installation artist, Joseph Beuys (1921, Krefeld – Düsseldorf, 1986) fundamentally changed the art of the 20th century. His influence can still be felt today in artistic and political discourses. His centennial in 2021 is an occasion to rediscover, appreciate, and critically question both his complex work and his international appeal. The exhibition in K20—Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen provides profound insight into the cosmopolitical thinking of Joseph Beuys as manifested in his actions. For here—as an acting, speaking, and animated figure—Beuys examined the central and radical idea of his expanded concept of art: “Everyone is an artist.” The goal of his universalist approach was to renew society from the ground up.

Positions in the exhibition:
Joseph Beuys, B-Town Warriors, Phyllida Barlow, Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian, Fatou Bensouda, Huma Bhabha, Dineo Seshee Bopape, Angela Davis, Bob Dylan, Dusadee Huntrakul, Charles Foster, Núria Güell, Donna Haraway, Raphael Hillebrand, Jenny Holzer, Michel Houellebecq, Zoe Leonard, Goshka Macuga, Milk Tea Alliance, Lutz Mommartz, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, PopeL., Tejal Shah, Vandana Shiva, Santiago Sierra, Patti Smith, Edward Snowden, Christopher D. Stone, Suzanne Lacy, The Otolith Group, Thich Nhat Hanh, Greta Thunberg, Mierle Laderman Ukeles.

The exhibition is accompanied by a discursive, German-English catalogue-book rich in material published by the internationally renowned Hatje Cantz Verlag. It deepens the dialogue with Beuys about art as a prerequisite for a transformation of society that is necessary for survival on all levels, as renowned authors from the most diverse disciplines get to the bottom of the proposition, the thought, the postulate that everyone, truly everyone, is an artist. Published by Hatje Cantz Verlag, Berlin, 336 pages / 39 EUR.

With a 360° tour, you can interactively explore the exhibition Everyone Is an Artist: Cosmopolitan Exercises with Joseph Beuys interactively and get further information about the multitude of contemporary works that enter into dialogue with Beuys.

In addition, a virtual curator’s tour (German/English) guides you through the anniversary exhibition on the occasion of the 100th birthday of Joseph Beuys.

Christoph Schlingensief: Kaprow City
April 24 – October 17, 2021
K20

The Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen is presenting Christoph Schlingensief’s (1960–2010) multimedia installation Kaprow City, which has been completely preserved as one of the few artistic works by the filmmaker, theater and opera director, talk-show host, and political action artist. Originally conceived as an accessible stage set for the Volksbühne in Berlin, Schlingensief transferred Kaprow City to the Migros Museum in Zurich in 2007 as an art installation. The expansive work of art is now being presented for the first time in a museum in Germany. Aesthetically, Kaprow City gives the impression of a battle of materials. According to the principle of overload, numerous themes and ideas overlap in the spaces, pictures, and films. Schlingensief incorporated the way the US-American happening artist Allan Kaprow (1927–2006) worked with the audience, as well as his reflections on a fictional film about the tragic death of Lady Di. The project offers one of the rare opportunities to see an installation by this extraordinary all-around artist.

A project of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in cooperation with the Estate of Christoph Schlingensief and Aino Laberenz.

A K+ Digital Guide to Kaprow City recreates the expansive artwork in an elaborate 3D model. With the help of built-in videos, image sections and short texts, you can experience Kaprow City within Schlingensief’s artistic cosmos. Schlingensief’s many original sounds trace his typical working method of bringing together and further developing thoughts and themes with great openness.

Isa Genzken: Works from 1973 to 1983
Isa Genzken: Here and Now
May 8 – September 5, 2021
K21

With two parallel exhibitions dedicated to Isa Genzken (b. 1948), the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen offers a special look at the work of one of the most important contemporary women artists worldwide. The focus is on two work phases from her career spanning five decades. On the lower floor of K21, the emphasis is on her visionary early work—a period that has never before been honored to this extent in any other exhibition. In parallel, current works from the last decade are on view on the bel étage. This exciting compilation draws attention to developments within the oeuvre, as well as to Isa Genzken’s attitude towards the world. It testifies to her ability to continually reinvent herself artistically, to appropriate new materials and techniques, and to respond precisely to the circumstances of her time.

The exhibition Isa Genzken: Works from 1973 to 1983 was conceived by the Kunstmuseum Basel in cooperation with the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf

For the exhibition Isa Genzken: Works from 1973 to 1983, a comprehensive exhibition catalogue has been published. Edited by Søren Grammel, Kunstmuseum Basel; Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen. With texts by Simon Baier, Søren Grammel, Jutta Koether, Griselda Pollock; Published bilingually: German and English by Buchhandlung Walther König, Cologne. 240 pages / 36 EUR (museum price)

A K+ Digital Guide accompanies the exhibition, offering insights into both exhibitions and detailed information on the artist and her working methods. In this context, there are also six video statements by companions and people who have been following Isa Genzken’s work for a long time, including Monica Bonvicini, Daniel Buchholz, Susanne Gaensheimer, Ralph Krotz, Nicolaus Schafhausen, Raf Simons and Josef Strau.

Stay connected: please check our website for regular updates on our program.
For further information please contact: presse [​at​] kunstsammlung.de