Constructing the World: Art and Economy

The first topical exhibition in the new building of Kunsthalle Mannheim sheds light on the economy’s impact on the arts by presenting classical modern art from the 1920s and 1930s, focussing on the German Weimar Republic, the Soviet Union and the United States.

Free-standing wall units partition the three connecting rooms of the exhibition’s historic part. See-through moments and juxtapositions keep refreshing perspectives and correlations of the thematically clustered art works. A color scheme that resonates with the spirit of the time has inspired a background of geometrical panels in bold hues and highlights selected exhibits. Few media installations provide background information of pivotal social developments such as the emergence of the modern metropolis in the early 20th century; an axial „trail“ provides the exhibition’s chronologic and contextualising backbone.

A spatial graphic design derived from Gustavs Klucis’ work Dynamic City connects the historic and the contemporary part of the exhibition and welcomes visitors in the foyer of Kunsthalle Mannheim.