something new, something old, something desired:
The Hamburger Kunsthalle shows its new collection presentation

“Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.” This traditional British rhyme refers to the things a bride needs for her wedding. At the Hamburger Kunsthalle, this saying was adapted somewhat for the new, Deutsche Bank-sponsored presentation of the museum’s important collection of contemporary art. The large-scale exhibition encompasses recently acquired works and donations (something new) of works that have been in the collection for some time (something old), as well as very special loans that are already on the wish list for a permanent transfer (something desired). Some of the works were created expressly for this presentation. Over fifty, mostly internationally renowned artists are represented in the show, including Nina Canell, David Hockney, Karl Horst Hödicke, Anette Messanger, Bruce Nauman, Cady Noland, Sigmar Polke, and Wolfgang Tillmans. At the same time, the exhibition provides an overview of the discourses and strategies, as well as the materials and forms, found in contemporary art.

In a section titled Separation and Dissociation, a series by Annette Kelm, who photographed the covers of books that were burned in the Nazi era, meets the traces of ash drawn on the wall by Arte Povera artist Jannis Kounellis. The latter’s jute sacks piled up for form a kind of wall correspond with one of the famous garage doors that Andreas Slominski hangs on the wall like monochrome, cool images. Lost in Translation deals with the theme of understanding and translation. Simon Fujiwara’s installation explores communication problems between people from different continents, while Annika Kahrs’ multichannel video projection shows giraffes from Hagenbeck’s zoo listening to a concert featuring the world's largest instrument, the octobass, thematizing human-animal communication through music.  Thomas Demand’s photo series Oval Office poses questions about the exercise of power and protest, as does Simon Deny’s spatial installation. The section Networks and Connections brings together abstract poetic fabric works and sculptural models of real and virtual worlds by artists such as Sara Sizer, Edith Dekyndt, and Thomas Schütte.

From February 18, 2022

www.hamburger-kunsthalle.de