ART DESTINATION: Martin-Gropius-Bau (Contemporary Art within the Renaissance Heart of Berlin)

By Jorge Jefferds May 20, 2019

Once the Kunstgewerbemuseum, today one of the most important exhibition spaces in Berlin, the Martin-Gropius-Bau is situated on the border between Berlin-Mitte and Kreuzberg. The museum regularly holds art exhibitions. International acclaimed artists exhibit here as well. The exterior facade of the Renaissance-style building contrasts with an interior that combines the grand with the minimalistic. The architecture of the entire building is a magnet for visitors.

In 1877, the construction of a Museum of Applied Arts begins in the German Imperial capital. Architect Martin Gropius and his colleague Heino Schmieden design a building in the Italian Neo-Renaissance style. Four years later, the building is finished, and the collection presented to Berliners. The building sustains major damage during World War II, but in the 1960s its fortunes take a turn for the better. The grandnephew of the founding director of the Bauhaus, Walter Gropius, is vehemently committed to restoring it from a near ruinous state. Gradually refurbished throughout the 1970s, it again serves as an exhibition space. Berliner Festspiele organizes exhibitions and concerts on its three levels. 

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Your visit shall begin where the Berlin Wall once stood. From here, you enter directly into this exceptionally grand historic building. The mosaics and terracotta figurines on the facade are noticeable at first sight. The entrance is elegant and stylishly decorated in white, reflecting the contemporary cultural zeitgeist. Immediately afterwards, you come to the heart of the building, a glass-enclosed atrium where the current exhibition is on display. Check out the elaborate mosaics on the floor; they reflect several epochs and branches of the arts and crafts movement. This is the backdrop for objects and installations by contemporary artists such as Ai Weiwei. Other famous names include Frida Kahlo, Olafur Eliasson and David Bowie.

Temporary events sometimes take place in the Martin-Gropius-Bau, for example JazzFest Berlin or the national competitions of the Berliner Festspiele.

Once you arrive, you will be fascinated with the following features: 

·  Regularly changing exhibitions on art, history, photography and archaeology
· Light-flooded atrium with a glass roof and magnificent arcades
· Lavish terracotta decorations and gold mosaics on the facade
· Modern exhibition rooms, a lecture and cinema hall
· Vestibule (entrance hall) with a glass dome

From March 22 until June 16, 2019, the museum invites you to explore the meaning of manual work process and the concept of handwork in the contemporary art scene of Berlin. 

When Dorothy Iannone dedicated a song to her friend Mary Harding in 1977, she also sang her emotional reactions about Berlin - the city the artist had moved to as part of the DAAD Artists' Program a year before, and in which she still lives today. Her song line "And Berlin will always need you" is also the title of the first exhibition, which has been shown at the Gropius Bau. Art, craft and concept Made in Berlin is a contemporary exhibition that introduces Berlin artists and their artistic practice. In a compilation of existing and specially created for the exhibition, works of traditional production methods, aesthetics and materiality as well as historical artifacts and objects illuminate the space.

The exhibition focuses on central aspects of artistic creation such as authorship, work processes, interpretation, sovereignty and power structures. These diverse facets are explored in relation to Berlin's dynamic contemporary art scene. On display are works such as Olaf Holzapfel's large, abstract textile work of hand-spun natural fibers, the handmade sculptures of rope suspensions, wood and leather by Leonor Antunes, weaving by Willem de Rooij playing with perspectives and color transitions, a screen of collaged, patterned rugs by Nevin Aladağ, video work with twelve screens by Theo Eshetu, and a new installation that Chiharu Shiota has redesigned for the atrium. The exhibition ranges from ornamental and decorative elements reminiscent of visual motifs of Eastern religions or Byzantine mosaics and ritual objects to the development of 20th century design. It includes craftsmanship from Berlin to South America.

The multiple entanglements and juxtapositions involve a series of complex narratives, some of which are highly personal, some universal, and others totally abstract. These permeate the individual works and, finally, the entire exhibition and equally inspire the occupation and associations of visitors and artists with everyday and cultural objects. “And Berlin Will Always Need You - Art, Craft and Concept Made in Berlin” shows the artistic diversity of Berlin and is a first commitment of the Gropius Bau to become an even more regular platform for Berlin artists.

Martin-Gropius-Bau is open between the hours of 10am and 7pm every day, but Tuesday. For this particular exhibition, the entrance fee is 15 Euros. However, Admission is free for children and teenagers up to 16 years. Guided tours for school classes and workshops are available by appointment. Severely disabled persons (more than 50% disability) also get discounted admission. The building has disabled-accessible entrances and a disabled-accessible lift to all exhibition floors.

If you need more information, visit https://www.berlinerfestspiele.de/de/gropiusbau/start.html

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