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Metal - Art - Craft
Contemporary Works by Four Berlin Artists

27.05.2011 to 04.09.2011

Schloss Köpenick
Schloss Köpenick

What the internationally known artists Olaf Haacke (* 1951), Lutz Holland (* 1934), Rüdiger Roehl (* 1942) and Jürgen Steinau (* 1953) all have in common is their formal training at the Kunsthochschule Burg Giebichenstein, their preference for working with metal and their distinct passion for handicraft. The exhibition, organised by the Museum of Decorative Arts in conjunction with the cultural department of the borough of Treptow-Köpenick, contains outstanding works from their long careers and is on show at Köpenick Palace, a venue rich in historical significance.

In the palace, works by the four proponents of metal art are brought into a dialogue with works from earlier epochs that is at once interesting and richly associative. The exhibition also bears reference to the Museum of Decorative Arts' former importance in promoting first-class handicraft at the palace during East German times. Some of the works on display today were purchased by the museum during that time. The timespan of the works on show does not, however, end in 1990, but stretches up to the present day. Continuity and change in the creative output of the four participating artists in the years prior to and following the reunification of Germany are made palpable for visitors to see.

Visitors to the exhibition can expect to find razor-sharp cutting implements designed by Jürgen Steinau, various kinds of iron objects by Rüdiger Roehl, imaginative bronze casts by Lutz Holland and diverse jewellery designs by Olaf Haacke, which, when combined, form a fascinating overview of contemporary Berlin metal art, now on show at Köpenick Palace.