Desired Images in the Jena Art Collection: New Acquisitions in Dialogue
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Desired Images in Jena: A Collection Tells Its Recent History
The exhibition Desired Images. Acquisitions of the Jena Art Collection presents key acquisitions from recent years and offers a multifaceted view of the development of the municipal art collection. Painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture, and video engage in a complex dialogue about collecting, preserving, and contemporary artistic practice.
Between Classical Modernism and Contemporary Art
At the center are numerous individual acquisitions, singular works, and collection additions from Berlin and Frankfurt am Main. The exhibition thus expands the focal points of the collection of classical modernism and contemporary art. A larger donation of works from Southern Germany and a graphic collection with works from the GDR complement the panorama.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and the Memory of the Collection
One of the special moments is the reacquisition of a double print by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner related to the action Degenerate Art. The work connects to the history of the Botho-Graef Foundation, for which Kirchner had designated around 260 works in 1918. The examination of the work thus links aesthetic experience with historical responsibility.
An Art Experience Between Paper, Surface, and Moving Image
The atmosphere of the exhibition arises from the interplay of media: delicate drawings and prints encounter vibrant paintings, photographic spaces, three-dimensional forms, and video works. Different materials, scales, and visual languages make visible how diverse a collection unfolds as a living archive of artistic ideas.
Farewell of a Influential Curator
With this exhibition, Erik Stephan bids farewell to the Municipal Museums Jena after many years as he retires. His work was closely linked with the expansion of the art collection, research and restoration projects, as well as numerous exhibitions. Desired Images is therefore not only a presentation of new acquisitions but also a retrospective of a formative curatorial era.
Publications and Cultural Education
The new acquisitions are documented in collection publications, commented on, and frequently depicted. The exhibition thus connects immediate engagement with works to art historical context and cultural education. Visitors experience how provenance, collection history, and curation shape the significance of individual artworks.
Conclusion: Experience Collection History Live
Those who want to discover Jena as a place of art history and contemporary exhibition culture will find in Desired Images a concentrated artistic experience full of historical references and visual surprises. The exhibition invites visitors to reconsider familiar categories such as painting, sculpture, or printmaking and to enjoy the aesthetic experience of a vibrant collection on-site.
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- Website: https://www.kunstsammlung-jena.de/de//1053806
