200 Years of the Present. Constellation 2: The Kunstverein and the Unresolved Problems of Civil Society

May 24 – August 3, 2025
Opening: Friday, May 23, 2025, 7 p.m.

With works and editions by
Daniel García Andújar, Ricardo Basbaum, Herbert Bayer, Lídia Chaves, Daniel Chodowiecki, Bruno Demattio, Stan Douglas, Luise Duttenhofer, Mina Gampel, Till Gathmann, HAP Grieshaber, John Hillard, Christoph Irrgang, Vika Kirchenbauer, Ferdinand Kriwet, Muntadas, Suntag NOH, Anna Oppermann, Dan Perjovschi, Walter Renz, José Alejandro Restrepo, hermann de vries and others

SHORT INFO

2027 marks the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Württembergischer Kunstverein (WKV). In the run-up to the bicentennial, the WKV is undertaking a two-year open process to examine three central ideas that are closely interwoven with the founding of German Kunstvereine (art associations) at the beginning of the nineteenth century from a contemporary perspective: the constituting of the (white, male) citizen as sovereign; the freedom of art; and nation-building. A series of exhibitions is planned that will reflect on possible connections between past, present, and future within four constellations. All four constellations are open arrangements between exhibition, archive, and workshop.

Constellation 2: The Kunstverein and the Unresolved Problems of Civil Society
Constellation 2 is conceived as an expansion and rearrangement of the previous exhibition. It is composed of three strands: an open series of movable image-text tableaus that take up historical contexts and figures of the WKV and read them across the historical grain; a selection of editions, exhibition posters, and documents on recurring socio-political concerns of the WKV since 1946; and numerous works by contemporary artists that revolve around various aspects of the constitution of the citizen as sovereign—and its consequences. In addition, the exhibition includes a small, growing reference library with the catalogues of the WKV, and books on the history of the city and the various topics of the project.

The works of contemporary artists include, among others, video installations by Vika Kirchenbauer and José Alessandro Restrepo, which deal with the colonial entanglements of the bourgeoisie; canvases by Anna Oppermann, which indict Johann Wolfgang Goethe’s relationship to women; photo editions by Christoph Irrgang and Stan Douglas on nation-building and justice; Mina Gampel’s portraits of Jewish families and personalities from Baden Württemberg; and an AI work by Daniel García Andújar on the limits of new technologies. All the works can be related directly or indirectly to the WKV.

Among the central protagonists of the image-text panels are various founding members of the WKV and their contemporary Luise Duttenhofer. In her paper cuts, she not only comments ironically on the vanities of the founders and other culturally active gentlemen, but also criticizes the restrictions placed on women. The exhibition shows a series of original works by this extraordinary artist, who embraced the silhouette as a critical feminist artform.

One wall with posters is dedicated to Alice Widensohler, the first woman to head the WKV, who repositioned it after the Second World War and apparently also influenced other local collections.

Curators
Hans D. Christ, Iris Dressler
Curatorial assistance
Anne Volk
Graphic design
Till Gathmann

Funded by
Kulturamt der Stadt Stuttgart
Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst des Landes Baden-Württemberg
Innovationsfonds Kunst Baden-Württemberg
ProLab