WONDERFUL – Humboldt, Krokodil & Polke

Berlin

WONDERFUL – Humboldt, Krokodil & Polke has been a permanent part of me Collectors Room in Auguststrasse since the opening of the exhibition space in 2010 and is currently the only one of its kind in Berlin. From today on, WONDERFUL – Humboldt, Krokodil & Polke presents spectacular artworks that it has newly acquired, along with several contemporary works from the Olbricht Collection that center on the theme of ‚The Wunderkammer‘ or historical ‘cabinet of curiosities’.

Wunderkammer or ‘cabinets of curiosities’ first evolved during the Renaissance to house collections of exquisite artworks (artificialia), rare natural objects (naturalia), scientific instruments (scientifica), objects from foreign lands (exotica) as well as the mysterious and unexplainable (mirabilia). Berlin also had its own art cabinet, which was founded by Prince-elector Joachim II (reigned 1535-1571). However, the few surviving objects have since been dispersed throughout various museums. The Wunderkammer Olbricht at me Collectors Room has revived the old tradition of cabinets of art and curiosities in Berlin. It gives us a deeper insight into the past, and is still capable today of achieving exactly what it did 200-300 years ago: astonishing and captivating an audience.

Alongside to the traditional objects in the Wunderkammer, a selection of previously unshown contemporary works from the Olbricht Collection are also on display. These works, many of which are recent acquisitions, revolve around the subject of the Wunderkammer and are themselves objects of wonder. One such work is Wolfe von Lenkiewicz’s ‚Garden of Earthly Delights‘. At first glance the painting looks like a copy of the original by Hieronymus Bosch, but upon closer inspection the viewer recognizes that the garden is awash with art-historical and pop-cultural references and is populated by such figures as the painter Francis Bacon and Pokémon characters.

Also on show are works by:
Eva Aeppli, Bertozzi & Casoni, Guillaume Bijl, GL Brierley, Pieter Brueghel (der Ältere), Maurizio Cattelan, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Mat Collishaw, George Condo, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Thierry de Cordier, Elmgreen & Dragset, Albrecht Dürer, Adam Eck, Cerith Wyn Evans, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Claire Fontaine, Philips Galle, Conrad Gesner, Laurent Grasso, Veit Grauppenberger, Julie Heffernan, Carl Hinrich Hering, Georg Hornemann, Abraham Jansz. van Diepenbeeck, Paul Jenkins, Terence Koh, Friedrich Kunath, David LaChapelle, Hans Leucker, Los Carpinteros, Liza Lou, Alastair Mackie, Esko Männikkö, Kris Martin, Charles Matton, Kate MccGwire, Ryan McGinness, Robert McNally, Jaroslaw Modzelewski, David Nicholson, Grayson Perry, Sigmar Polke, Ged Quinn, Antoine Roegiers, Mark Ryden, Gitte Schäfer, Andres Serrano, Simmons & Burke, Sam Taylor-Wood, Leopold Vogtner, Corinne von Lebusa, Wolfe von Lenkiewicz, Richard Wathen, Kehinde Wiley and Barry X-Ball.

ME COLLECTORS ROOM BERLIN / OLBRICHT FOUNDATION

November 29th, 2012 – April 28th, 2013
Auguststrasse 68
10117 Berlin
Germany

Calendar