The Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz are taking a look at important artistic personalities from the city and region in the Capital of Culture year 2025. Their series of exhibitions ranges from the Art Nouveau visionary Henry van de Velde to the expressionists Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Edvard Munch to the Clara Mosch artist group. This group fought for artistic freedom in the GDR and caused a stir with critical actions. Separate exhibitions are also dedicated to the work of the artists Carlfriedrich Claus and Frank Maibier as well as the architect Frei Otto.
Chemnitz has many stories to tell as a city on the move, says General Director Florence Thurmes. "The closer you look, the more subtleties and legends you recognize." In keeping with the motto of Chemnitz as European Capital of Culture, "C the Unseen", next year's program aims to present the city's hidden cultural treasures.
Munch painting returns to Chemnitz
The exhibition on the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch from August 10, which revolves around the theme of fear, is considered the highlight. Munch was a guest in Chemnitz in 1905 and painted portraits of the family of entrepreneur Herbert Eugen Esche. For the show, the Munch painting "The Lonely Ones", which was once part of the art collection itself, will also return on loan after around 90 years.
Munch's most famous work "The Scream" will probably only be on display as a graphic, explained Thurmes. From the end of April, another major exhibition will highlight realist movements in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s with around 300 works of art, starting with New Objectivity.
From the beginning of the year, there will also be a reminder of how an alternative art scene developed in Chemnitz - then Karl-Marx-Stadt - in the GDR in the 1970s. With unconventional exhibition programs, actions and events, the Galerie Oben and the artist group Clara Mosch (1977-1982), including their own producer gallery, set themselves apart from the state-compliant cultural scene and attracted art lovers from far beyond the region.
Documents, photos, posters, postcards and letters are intended to bring this history to life. There are also changing presentations on artists from the period from 1973 to 1990.
Schmidt-Rottluff-Haus opens in spring
In addition to the Museum am Theaterplatz and the Gunzenhauser Museum, the art collections also include the Schloßbergmuseum, Rabenstein Castle, the Henry van de Velde Museum in the Villa Esche and the Carlfriedrich Claus Archive. In 2025, the Schloßbergmuseum will dedicate itself to the history of Chemnitz in the decades as Karl-Marx-Stadt under the title "The New City". The focus will be on the myth of the socialist model city and parallels in building culture between East and West, it said.
Next year, a presentation on the expressionist Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and other members of the "Brücke" artists' association will be added. The artist's former parents' house is currently being renovated and redesigned as an intervention area for the Capital of Culture. It is set to open to visitors in spring 2025 and will remain another important address for art lovers even after the Capital of Culture year.
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