The media interest was overwhelming and the reviews euphoric when the “Hamburger Bahnhof” gallery in Berlin reopened after months of corona closure, with a monumental and colorful work of art by Katharina Grosse. Since then, visitors have been moving in timed slots through the impressive painting, which extends over the existing and newly created surfaces inside the Historical Hall and also outside the museum. Katharina Grosse is internationally one of the most renowned contemporary artists.
Innovative partnership
Photo: Robert Schittko, Art/Beats
The exhibition entitled “It Wasn’t Us” is one of the artist’s largest works to date and this year it is a central part of the partnership between Volkswagen and the Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Since 2012, numerous innovative projects have been created in this cooperation, which otherwise would hardly have been achievable. These include exhibitions, educational initiatives and a newly developed format called “Volkswagen ART4ALL”, which aims to give more people access to art and culture. Every first Thursday of the month, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., visitors have free admission to the exhibitions at the “Hamburger Bahnhof”, combined with an accompanying artistic program, guided tours and workshops – in times of corona in the form of specially developed ONLINE EDITIONS.
In such a Volkswagen ART4ALL ONLINE EDITION – with a podcast – Katharina Grosse explains in an artist talk with museum director Dr. Gabriele Knapstein what her work has to do with soccer.
Indeed, she conquers the whole museum with colors, forms and a virtuoso dynamic painting. In this manner, all known perspectives change for the visitor, and Katharina Grosse has created a luminous painting in which visitors can move and discover for themselves like explorers.
Katharina Grosse, It Wasn't Us, 2020, Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin, acrylic on floor, polystyrene and bronze; paint on asphalt, concrete, brick and metal, 700 x 6,500 x 18,300 cm. Courtesy of KÖNIG GALERIE, Berlin, London, Tokyo / Gagosian / Galerie nächst St. Stephan Rosemarie Schwarzwälder, Vienna. Photo: © Katharina Grosse and VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, 2020
Three Volkswagen employees accompanied us through the expedition, and we asked them about their experiences: Daniela Blaschke from Volkswagen Group’s Public Affairs department, Christian Sommer, Topic Planner at Volkswagen Communications and Jan-Erik Franz from International Marketing at Volkswagen were all enthusiastic:
Cultural involvement
Benita von Maltzahn, Head of Volkswagen’s Cultural Commitment, emphasizes the importance of promoting art and culture: “Constantly breaking new ground is something that unites us all: the artists, the curators and us as a company. Volkswagen supports artists above all where they are passionate about realizing innovative concepts.”