Art and Politics

Confrontations and Coexistence

Otto Dix, Hannah Höch, Günther Uecker, Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Antoni Rayzhekov

Otto Dix (1891 – 1969) is one of the most renowned German artist, painter and printmaker, noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of German society during the Weimar Republic and the brutality of war. He was profoundly affected by the direct confrontation with the war at the front lines and he represented his traumatic experiences in many works, including a portfolio of fifty etchings called 'Der Krieg' (The War), published in 1924, presented in the center of this exhibition.

Why would a gallery of contemporary art take an interest in displaying military-themed etchings from the second decade of the 20th century? The answer seems more and more obvious in the current times of social tension, political unrest and pandemics. The brutal truthfulness in the works of Otto Dix, the artistic approach that leaves no one indifferent, the grotesque images making us experience the horrors of war without being exposed to it, turn these works into a permanent alarm call. A reminder not only of the fierce clashes on the frontline, but also of all aberrations of the modern world, which keep on happening despite our cumulative historical experience.

ifa's Otto Dix exhibition is supplemented by a small selection of works by further outstanding German artists from ifa's art collection, who have always kept their finger on the pulse of society: Hannah Höch, Joseph Beuys, Günther Uecker and Gerhard Richter. Furthermore, the exhibition will juxtapose the contemporary artwork 'Pandemic sound Card', 2020, by Bulgarian artist Antoni Rayzhekov, which is inspired by the Coronavirus situation and the possible manipulations currently threatening civil freedoms.

An exhibition by ifa in collaboration with Structura Gallery and Goethe-Institut Bulgarien.