The Gipsformerei celebrates in 2019 the 200th anniversary of its foundation in 1819. Rising to the occasion, the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin lay on a special exhibition at the James-Simon-Galerie, Near Life. The Gipsformerei - 200 Years of Casting Plaster, from 30 August 2019 to 1 March 2020 to showcase the technique of taking casts from life or nature. Handed down since the days of antiquity, this technique has been in use throughout the centuries to achieve close sculptural approximations to life.
The Gipsformerei’s home near the Charlottenburg Palace is not the only place where its fine-art replicas can be seen – the objects are also widely represented in exhibitions. For example, several sculptures from the Gipsformerei were loaned to the Bode-Museum in 2015 for its exhibition, “The Lost Museum”. The exhibition highlighted the consequences of the fires in the Friedrichshain flak-tower bunker in 1945 and illustrated the fates of the artworks which were destroyed. Thanks to the Gipsformerei replicas, visitors could also see and admire the sculptures in their original form and colours. Being able to see originals and replicas directly juxtaposed like this demonstrates just how unique the Gipsformerei’s work is.