Author: Anothertravelguide.com
The vast collection of modern art belonging to the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia is divided into two sections and can thus be viewed in two separate buildings.
The collection of 20th-century art, entitled K20, is focused on classical modernism. Various currents and schools that were prevalent in the early 1900s can be found here, including Fauvism, Expressionism, Pittura Metafisica, Cubism, Dadaism, Surrealism and of course, works by the Blue Rider (Der Blaue Reiter) group of German painters. The museum has a large collection of works by Paul Klee, who taught painting technique for many years at the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts (Kunstakademie Düsseldorf).
The second half of the 20th century is strongly represented by such well-known American painters as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Andy Warhol, as well as a number of European artists, including Markus Lüpertz, Per Kirkeby, Gerhard Richter and Joseph Beuys, a long-time professor at the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts.
Since 1989, artists from other countries - including Richard Serra, Richard Long and Daniel Buren - have been invited to take part in group exhibitions, each bringing a single work to display in the museum's main exhibition hall. K20 also hosts extended thematic exhibitions, while its library offers a wide array of books, catalogues and digital materials.
The second section of the museum, entitled K21, was inaugurated in 2002. It displays works dating from the 1980s to the present, representing the most significant art currents since the beginning of the Post-Modernist era in a visually appealing manner. A great deal of emphasis is placed on sculpture and art objects, as well as photography. However, the principal focus of this collection is on the renewed interest in Figurativism, narrative art, Metaphorism and powerful images.
The museum houses an extensive collection of photographs by Andreas Gursky, with additional works by Thomas Ruff, Candida Höfer, Jeff Wall and others. An outstanding set of sculptures and art objects by Marcel Broodthaers, Nam June Paik, Tony Cragg, Ilya Kabakov, Richard Deacon, Sigmar Polke, Bill Viola, Rachel Whiteread, Jannis Kounellis and many other contemporary artists can also be found here.
Grabbeplatz 5, Ständehausstrasse 1
10/2010
Keywords: museum, Düsseldorf