Awaiting you at SCHIRN 2017

René Magritte (1898–1967) conjures enigmatic paintings. In this concentrated solo exhibition devoted to the great Belgian Surrealist, the SCHIRN explores his relationship to the philosophical currents of his time. Magritte did not see himself as an artist, but rather as a thinking human being who conveyed his thoughts through his painting. Throughout his life he sought to imbue painting with meaning equal to that of language. Driven by his curiosity and his affinities with some of the leading philosophers of his age, such as Michael Foucault, he created a remarkable body of work and developed an altered view of the world that is reflected in a unique combination of accurate, masterful painting and conceptual processes. The exhibition sheds light on Magritte’s most important pictorial formulas, which deal with the myth of invention and the definition of painting.

Lena Henke is fascinated with the systems and structures of urban life as it is inscribed with its everyday stories in the streetscape, in buildings, in and façades. The significance of these symbols wanes with the passing years. Removed and at best liberated from their context, they are often mere clichés that remind us of an original idea. In a predominantly minimalistic formal language, the artist augments her focus on such transformation processes and her dominant interest in architecture, urban planning, Land Art, human relationships, sexuality, and fetishes with subtle references to art history. She will develop a work specifically for the Rotunda of the SCHIRN in which interior and exterior merge and in which she underscores the unique character of this freely accessible space.

Doves, rainbow colors, and rifles adorned with flowers—depictions of peace are usually limited to standard clichés and familiar symbols. In a discursive group exhibition, the SCHIRN pursues a different approach and addresses the question of how peace actually works. Proceeding from the premise that peace is reflected most clearly in processes of interaction and communication among people and among all of the players in the ecosystem, the exhibition focuses on phenomena that have always contributed to making human (co-)existence possible and sustainable. A large number of works by international artists offer a new, contemporary perspective on the subject of peace. The exhibition will be accompanied by numerous live events, including poetry readings, concerts, lectures, and cooking sessions in which visitors are invited to take part. The program will be developed in collaboration with the participating artists.

The Weimar Republic spanned a period marked by social tensions, political struggles, and social upheavals as well as artistic revolutions and innovations. The Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt is devoting a major thematic exhibition to German art from 1918 to 1933. Numerous artists created memorable records of the stories of their contemporaries in their own unique styles. Realistic, ironic, and grotesque works illustrate the struggle for democracy and paint a picture of a society in the midst of crisis and transition. The exhibition features some 200 artworks by both famous and previously little-known artists—Max Beckmann, Kate Diehn-Bitt, Otto Dix, Dodo, Conrad Felixmüller, George Grosz, Carl Grossberg, Hans and Lea Grundig, Karl Hubbuch, Lotte Laserstein, Alice Lex-Nerlinger, Elfriede Lohse-Wächtler, Jeanne Mammen, Oskar Nerlinger, Franz Radziwill, Christian Schad, Rudolf Schlichter, Georg Scholz, and Richard Ziegler. Along with historical photographs, films, periodicals, and posters, the SCHIRN is presenting a striking panorama of the art of the Weimar Republic.

Basquiat (1960–1988) is acknowledged today as one of the most significant artists of the 20th century. Having come of age in the post-punk underground art scene in Lower Manhattan, he conquered the art world and gained widespread international recognition, becoming the youngest artist ever to participate in the documenta in Kassel in 1982. Basquiat’s raw, vibrant imagery bears witness to his encyclopedic interests and his experience as a young artist with no formal training. More than 30 years after Basquiat’s last major exhibition in Germany, the SCHIRN is presenting a major survey devoted to this American artist, organized in collaboration with the Barbican Art Gallery, London. The exhibition is also the first to focus on Basquiat’s relationship to music, text, film, and television, situating the artist’s formidable talents within a broader cultural context.