After the exhibitions 'Modern Times' (1900-1945) and 'Divided Heaven' (1945-1968), our attention now turns to the years from 1968 to 2000. The leitmotif for the new collection display is provided by the title of Michel Houellebecq's novel 'Extension du domaine de la lutte'. In this novel from the mid-1990s, the French author captured the zeitgeist of a generation that was shaped by the pursuits of capitalism and which saw its entire existence as a combat zone, waged on shifting fronts.

Like Germany itself, until 1989 art was still largely divided along political fronts and variously reflected the often fierce lines of conflict in society. Conflicts also arose within art during this time, so that art itself became a 'combat zone' of sorts. The new collection display now highlights these conflicts and tensions in its selection of brilliant, often high-profile artworks. It scrutinizes the major political themes and images of the age and explores fine art's boundaries, which underwent a lasting 'expansion' in the period 1968 to 2000, thanks to the increasing inclusion of photography, video, performance, object and conceptual art. The exhibition features core works by Barnett Newman, Joseph Beuys, Andy Warhol, Katharina Sieverding, Werner Tübke, Rebecca Horn, Andreas Gursky, and Wolfgang Tillmans.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Sparkassen Finanzgruppe.