To mark the start of the European Capital of Culture year 2025, Best of. Part I: Curator's favourites the (specialist) staff set out the selection criteria: which work of art has travelled the furthest, which is the smallest, the largest, the youngest or the oldest? This reveals bizarre objects and rare treasures from the collection. Art that has not yet been in the spotlight will be on display for the first time. The staff's favourite paintings will find a place in the exhibition and visitors will be able to vote for their favourites.
But the extensive holdings of German Expressionism and New Objectivity - two thematic strands that contribute significantly to the international reputation of the collection - will not be neglected in the presentation either. On the ground floor, works by the Brücke artist group enter into a dialogue with the art of the Blaue Reiter. Special attention is paid here to the extensive range of paintings and prints by Gabriele Münter and Alexej von Jawlensky, for whom Alfred Gunzenhauser was enthusiastic early on.
The second floor is dedicated entirely to the famous New Objectivity artist Otto Dix, whose works the collector has acquired on a large scale. The Gunzenhauser Museum has one of the world's largest collections of works by Dix. In addition to the highlights of this multifaceted artist, the collection offers a rare insight into the development of his painting, from the first self-portrait to landscape painting in the post-war period.
The exhibition kicks off with the Young Art Night on 28 September, organised for the first time by the newly founded Youth Council of the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz - Museum Gunzenhauser. The exhibition will be on display from 29 September 2024 to 16 March 2025.
The second part of the exhibition series will reverse the view of the collection in the autumn of the European Capital of Culture year, when it is called Best of. Part II: Visitor's choice.