Artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's exhibition at the Hypo-Kunsthalle runs until the middle of June.
Painter, printmaker and sculptor Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880–1938) is one of the most important representatives of German Expressionism. He is perhaps best known today as the founder and leading figure of the artists’ group Die Brücke in Dresden. Inspired by Polynesian and other primitive art, as well as by the works of Gauguin, van Gogh and Matisse, he distilled from these influences a distinct style of his own, characterized by radically simplified forms and boldly contrasting colors. The famous Berlin street scenes, created between 1912 and 1913, mark the beginning of Kirchner’s more mature works. His signature flat areas of bright color were replaced by frenzied, spiky, angular forms, muted colors and nervous hatching, through which he expressed the anonymous bustle and erotic tension of city street life. World War I was a turning point in Kirchner’s life. Suffering a physical and mental breakdown, he was discharged from the army and sent to Switzerland for recovery, where he remained until the end of his life. Living in the solitude of the Swiss mountains, Kirchner began to paint monumental mountain landscapes and scenes of farm life. In the late twenties, his work underwent yet another change, a move toward more abstract, symbolic depictions. Through June 13, the Hypo-Kunsthalle, Theatinerstr. 15, presents more than 200 works by the versatile artist. Drawings, watercolors and prints supplement his most notable works in oil. The exhibition is open daily 10-18, Thursdays until 21. For a recorded program call 22 78 17.