Kunsthalle Bielefeld

The Kunsthalle Bielefeld is a museum and exhibition space for modern and contemporary art in the East Westphalian city of Bielefeld. In 1968, designed by Philip Johnson museum was founded by Rudolf- August Oetker.

Collection

The collection includes works of 20th century art. These include paintings by Pablo Picasso, Max Beckmann and the Blue Rider paintings and currents to László Moholy- Nagy and Oskar Schlemmer. Even younger art of the 1970s and 1980s as well as contemporary artistic positions found increasing attention in the collection. In the Kunsthalle surrounding park and a sculpture by Auguste Rodin, Henry Moore, Richard Serra, Ólafur Elíasson and other modern sculptors are to be visited. Before the entrance of the building are permanently on bronze casting of Rodin's "Thinker" and installed since 1989, Serra's sculpture Vertical "Axis".

Supplemented the collection is by temporary exhibitions of the profile of the Kunsthalle corresponding contemporary artists. The most visited exhibitions were " Emil Nolde - meeting with the Nordic " in 2008 with 74,000 visitors, followed by the exhibition " Picasso Surrealism - Works 1925-1937 " in 1991, with almost 68,000 visitors. In the show entitled " 1937 - perfection and destruction," were shown in the painting of various styles from that very year, there were 2007/2008, about 47,000 visitors; to an exhibition of paintings of the born near Bielefeld Peter August Böckstiegel and Conrad Felix Müller, entitled " Working Worlds " in 2007 were approximately 45,000 visitors.

The exhibitions can be developed in addition to the individual Exploration by guides. There is also a museum educational opportunity for all age groups. The museum is affiliated with a shop, a café and a library.

Architecture

Located on the southwest outskirts of Bielefeld's old town building was built in 1968 according to plans by the American architect Philip Johnson in the International style of Caesar Pinnau. It is Johnson's only museum in Europe. The building was renovated in 2002.

The cubic, standing on a square base construction consists of three above ground and two underground floors, with a total 1200 square meters of exhibition space. The facade consists of a striking red sandstone.

The design of Johnson saw a sculpture garden in front of the urban boundary. This was not initially realized. It was not until September 27, 2008 - the 40th anniversary of the Kunsthalle - emerged after the original plans of 1968 such equipment as a replacement for the existing park with water basin.

Name dispute

Rudolf- August Oetker had at the time of the Foundation expressed a desire to call the Kunsthalle after his stepfather Richard Kaselowsky house. Kaselowsky was in Bielefeld because of its Nazi past controversial ( membership in the party since 1933 and a member of Friends of Himmler, Award in his respective company Oetker as National Socialist pattern operation). This led to a debate that has been in Bielefeld a major issue of social movements in 1968. The composer Hans Werner Henze drew his Piano Concerto written for the inauguration back, NRW Minister President Heinz Kühn and two federal ministers could apologize. The event with 1,200 invited guests was canceled completely in sequence by Oetker, but the City Council held on to his name decision. The "silent" opening on 27 September 1968 was accompanied by protest demonstrations. To this day, remembers the entrance to the art gallery a plaque on the namesake and described him as a victim of heavy air attack of 30 September 1944 without to address its role in the company or the controversy surrounding him.

In the following years, the Kunsthalle led the controversial part of their name no longer in public. In 1998 a new discussion, when the then Kunsthalle director Thomas Kellein was an approach to the Oetker was looking for and highlighting the name again. After the search for an innocuous name version had failed, the then red-green city council decided to rename in the exclusive name Kunsthalle Bielefeld. Then Rudolf August Oetker ended his support and moved his personal loan back from the collection of the Kunsthalle.