Opening: K20 Grabbeplatz and Schmela Haus
The reopening of the K20 Grabbeplatz will be on 10 July 2010. Find out more The building on Grabbeplatz will undergo farreaching improvements and renovations, and a new museum wing will be erected. Find out more
Visit the new Schmela Haus which was made available to the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen as an additional venue for museum activities. Find out more
Image: Exterior view K20 Grabbeplatz, © Photo: Walter Klein
K21 Ständehaus Guided Tours and AudioGuides in English and other languages
Guided Tours can be arranged in German, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Hungarian and Dutch. For a fee of 1,00 EUR, an audioguide in English can be hired from the ticket desk with commentaries on the main works in the collection. Find out more
For further information please contact Regula Erpenbach.
K20 Grabbeplatz is temporarily closed. Find out more
K20 Grabbeplatz Extension, Overall Renovation and Reopening
The laying of the foundation stone on 28 February 2008 renewed interest in the extension of K20 which is currently underway. Since June 2008 the existing building has been renovated and furbished in order to comply with the extension’s technical standards and to fulfil international cooperative demands and also conservational and technical requirements.
The first request for an essential extension to the museum, which opened on the Grabbeplatz in 1986, came from the Kunstsammlung’s founding director, Prof. Dr. Werner Schmalenbach. His successors, Prof. Armin Zweite and Dr. Marion Ackermann, carried on with this task.
The renovated and extended K20 Grabbeplatz will be opened by Marion Ackermann on 10 July 2010. In the new K20 Grabbeplatz the collection will be on display.
In 2006 a feasibility study for a public hall, the extension of K20 and the expansion of the parking garage between Ratinger Straße/Ratinger Mauer and Paul-Klee-Platz was developed by the Government of North Rhine-Westphalia and the City of Düsseldorf. They agreed to work together on this project which has such great significance for urban development.
In 2004 the firm Dissing & Weitling was commissioned to draw up appropriate preliminary plans. The museum which opened on the Grabbeplatz in 1986 was originally designed by these architects from Copenhagen. Their plans are the basis for the construction of Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen’s extension. Due to this consistency, a uniform appearance can be guaranteed for the museum, both on the inside and the outside.
During the past fifteen years, the construction of an extension has not only been repeatedly discussed, it has also been considered and even promised by the various State Governments. Time has shown that this more than necessary measure must be taken in order to do justice to the roles and functions of the State Collection.
On the one hand, the Foundation and State’s important art treasures must be made sufficiently available to the public in an ideal way. On the other hand, the regular presentation of exhibitions, which do not only appeal to the public but are also based on sound research, should be able to take place in an adequate setting. This should be possible without having to keep large parts of the collection in storage, not only temporarily, but in some cases for many years.
K21 with its small cabinets did not improve the situation in K20. These circumstances were clear to all those involved when the redesign of the former Ständehaus (House of the Estates) was agreed upon and initiated. Thus, the Cabinet Decision of 21 March 2006 reinforced the agreement which was reached between the Stiftung Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, the Minister President who was in power at that time, the State Chancellery and the responsible ministry in early 1995: to start with the extension of the museum on the Grabbeplatz after completing the reconstruction of the Ständehaus (House of the Estates).
Find out more about the K20 Grabbeplatz collection
K20 Grabbeplatz Overall Renovation of the Existing Building
The existing building is being completely renovated. Apart from improved air-conditioning technology and safety engineering, the new design also includes a complete replacement of all windows and light canopies. Furthermore, an artist will redesign the former Café Zwey and the rooms of the education department which will be situated in the former Paul Klee collection area and will include offices and four studios. For director Marion Ackermann, a sensitive approach to the handling of the original architecture and artistic education are important aspects within the process of renovating and refurnishing.
K20 Grabbeplatz Design of the Extension
An approximately 1075 m² exhibition area, which contains no supporting columns, has been planned for the ground floor (EG=GFL). It can be accessed from the main hall, in other words, from the old building’s foyer. Its unobstructed height is about 6.50 m. This room will be artificially lighted.
Similar to the ground floor, the second floor (2. OG = 2nd fl) will have an approximately 907 m² column-free exhibition area with 4.57 m high ceilings. This room has been designed to receive natural light from above. The ceiling’s construction will allow slats to either shade or block out daylight so that sensitive objects can be displayed under artificial light in these particular areas.
The extension does not cater to specific genres. Conditions should allow the ideal presentation not only of traditional media, such as paintings and sculptures on pedestals, but also photographs, drawings, video projections and multimedia installations. In order to do justice to the changing requirements, appropriately proportioned light-weight galleries and cabinets will be set up in the large halls on the ground floor and the second floor. This feature does not only allow for more flexibility, it also provides the opportunity to create new spatial impressions in which the artworks can be ideally displayed.
The whole impression of the rooms is defined by walls, floors and ceilings. Materials, colours and structures are to be as subdued as possible so as not to distract from the exhibited works and objects. Clear spatial configurations and ideal proportions regarding the relation between height, width and length are necessary. A focus on the significant development of the relationship between supports and weights, and a distinct emphasis of orthogonal lines is evident. However, these tendencies by no means forbid architectural nuances in the shape of explicit variations on these specifications.
The entrance to the museum and the collection and exhibition rooms will remain in the same place with regard to the whole complex. However, extensive reconstructions will take place in the foyer and the adjacent rooms. The Trinkaus-Auditorium, for example, which reopened on 10 July, is to serve mainly as a cinema.
The delivery entrance will be situated in the extension of the pedestrian zone between the large hall on the ground floor and the old building. This important relocation will enable the construction of a special freight lift which can access both the depot and the second floor. In the past, this storey, which is so important for the presentation of the collection, could only be reached by means of a passenger lift. As a consequence, all larger works had to be carried across the long flight of stairs.
The design of the façade is connected to the “old building” through the choice of material (Bornholm granite). The façade’s noble appearance is both enriched and accentuated by the slightly offset delivery entrance and the transparent stair tower at the end of the wing.
The Paul Klee Platz needed a both convincing and attractive redesign which also takes the traffic problems brought on by art deliveries into account. In December 2008 British artist Sarah Morris won the contest for the design of the north wall on the Paul Klee Platz. The New York based artist suggested a tiled wall from the context of her most recent Origami series. This work will be presented on 10 July 2010 in connection with the opening of K20.
The reopening of the K20 Grabbeplatz will be on 10 July 2010. Find out more
Schmela Haus Mutter-Ey-Straße 3
The Schmela Haus joins the ensemble of buildings of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen as its third exhibition venue.
The building, home to the Galerie Schmela until 2008, will serve as a “platform for experimentation.” Held here will be discussions, debates, and lectures, but also actions and performances. Not least of all, this venue will serve as a meeting point for the Düsseldorf art scene and provide a setting for lively exchanges of ideas between the young artists of the Düsseldorf Art Academy. While projects for the K20 and the K21 generally require long-term planning, the Schmela Haus will enable us to respond immediately to the latest art trends. A dynamic new venue is being incorporated into the revamped conception of the Kunstsammlung.
On the history of the Schmela Haus
On September 17, 1971, when renowned Düsseldorf Alfred Schmela art dealer opened his new gallery at Mutter-Ey-Straße 3, it caused a minor sensation. Up until then, the relatively small premises on Hunsrückenstraße had provided Schmela with a platform for his pathbreaking artistic program. The new location made available a substantially larger space. It was Joseph Beuys, moreover, who inaugurated the gallery with an exhibition of his legendary “Barraque D’Dull Odde,” and who installed his works there regularly in subsequent years. The new building did not generate attention solely by virtue of its expanded exhibition area.
In particular by virtue of its use of pumice stone concrete and its overall great tonality, the five-story structure, with its labyrinthine, interlocking spaces, was perceived as simply inappropriate for the the adequate presentation of works of art. Even after Schmela’s death in 1980, this tower-style building continued to house the gallery right up until 2008 under the direction of his daughter Ulrike Schmela (albeit with an interruption lasting several years). In 1995, architect Günter Zamp Kelp implemented structural modifications. The driveway leading to the courtyard was closed and converted into a reception and exhibition space whose materiality contrasts with the existing architecture.
Lectures, discussions, music, and drinks
In 2009, the building formerly serving as the address of Galerie Schmela was acquired by the Bau- und Liegenschaftsbetrieb of the Federal State of North-Rhine Westphalia and made available to the Kunstsammlung as an additional venue for museum activities. Beginning in mid- November, the building will become the setting for a series of events related to the exhibition JOSEPH BEUYS. PARALLELPROZESSE / JOSEPH BEUYS: PARALLEL PROCESSES. Find out more
Schmela Haus BEUYS AUSSTELLEN? (EXHIBITING BEUYS?): An event series
Explored in a series of public discussions will be the question: how should the works of Beuys he exhibited today?
Discussed during the lead in to the exhibition JOSEPH BEUYS. PARALLELPROZESSE / JOSEPH BEUYS: PARALLEL PROCESSES – which will be on view at the K20 Grabbeplatz from September 11th, 2010 until January 16, 2011 as the contribution of the K20 Grabbeplatz to the Quadriennale 2010 – will be questions concerning the display of the works of Joseph Beuys. Participants will include exhibition organizers, associates of the artist, and other specialists. All of those invited have enthusiastically agreed to share their experiences with Beuys and to discuss the considerable challenges involved in mounting posthumous installations of his works in collections and exhibitions. All available installation photographs of important Beuys exhibitions will be used to recall their original appearance. In the context of Beuy’s oeuvre, we also hope to raise and perhaps provide answers to both new questions as well as those long denied public exposure.
Discussions will be conducted in German. The discussion series will be developed and organized in collaboration between Wilfried Kühn and the Hochschule für Gestaltung, Karlsruhe.
With this new venue, the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen acquires a display window that faces the street, one characterizing the museum's new role as host. Tested out for the first time at the new location in the context of the will be the principle of a culture of open dialogue – to the accompaniment of music and drinks.
Organized by Düsseldorf artist Christian Jendreiko will be a music program for the bar and for the late evening hours. But he will not be alone behind the DJ console as he sets up auditory links to the thematic tendencies discussed in the lectures: he invites his artist friends to DJ with him. The bar temporarily installed in the gallery space is the work of Andreas Schmitten.
More Information: Regula Erpenbach +49 (0) 211.8381-642
K20K21 New director of Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen: Dr. Marion Ackermann
In December 2008 Dr. Marion Ackermann was made director of Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen.
She officially takes up her position on 1 September 2009.
Marion Ackermann was born in Göttingen in 1965. She studied art history, German language and literature studies and history in Göttingen, Kassel, Vienna and Munich. In her doctoral thesis she dealt with Wassily Kandinsky’s autobiographical and theoretical texts.
From 1995 until 2003, she was employed at the Städtische Galerie im Lehnbachhaus. She curated there the following exhibitions: Paula Modersohn-Becker (1997), Rosemarie Trockel (2000), “Schattenrisse (silhouettes)” (2001), Katharina Grosse (2002), “Unwirklichkeit üben (practising unreality)” (Lovis Corinth and Max Slevogt, 2003) and also the exhibition series “Dialoge zur Zeichnung (dialogues on drawing)”.
Dr. Ackermann taught at the Kunstakademie and at the Fachhochschule für Fotodesign in Munich and also at other institutions. In addition, she wrote a book called “Farbige Wände (coloured walls)” (2003).
In December 2003 she became the director of the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart. This house opened in 2005 in a new building on the Palace Square. After the opening presentation she organised monographic exhibitions on Otto Dix, Max Bill, Fritz Winter, Josephine Meckseper and Christian Jankowski and also thematic shows such as “Leuchtende Bauten: Architektur der Nacht (luminous buildings: architecture of the night)”, Piktogramme – Die Einsamkeit der Zeichen (pictograms -- the loneliness of signs)” or “Laboratorium Lack (enamel lab)” and “Drei. Das Triptychon in der Moderne (Three. Triptychs in Modern Art)”. Dr. Ackermann also developed numerous projects with young artists.
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