The Arts in Germany

Through 26 January 2014, a double exhibition in Herford and Ahlen is presenting collages by major artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.



Disturbing the Piece: An expedition through the world of collages (Ruhe-Störung. Streifzüge durch die Welt der Collage) is the title of the exhibition that can be seen running parallel in the Museum Marta Herford and in the Kunstmuseum Ahlen. The title is a playful reference to the status of collages in art: “They have been the troublemakers in the art world for over one hundred years now,” states the Kunstmuseum Ahlen’s website.

With works by artists such as George Grosz, Kurt Schwitters and Max Ernst, the exhibition documents on the one hand classical collage techniques of the early 20th century, in which primarily paper served as the starting material. But it also shows contemporary methods that make use of a wide spectrum of genres and materials, for instance in the sound installation by the Swiss artist Jean Tinguely, or the colour film montage Las Vegas by Ferdinand Kriwet. In some cases, the contemporary works fill entire rooms and tower up to 22 metres high.