Art of the former Soviet Union from the Ludwig Collection — Ludwig Forum for International Art, Aachen, as Part of the new Presentation at the Neue Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Art of the former Soviet Union from the Ludwig Collection — Ludwig Forum for International Art, Aachen, as Part of the new Presentation at the Neue Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Three important paintings from the Ludwig Collection — Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen, will be on loan to the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin for the first time from 17 November 2023. These are the following works from the collection’s focus on Art of the Soviet Union between 1960 and 1990:
Boris Nemenskij, On the nameless Heigh, 1961
Sarkis Muradjan, My Daughters, 1969
Jurij Korolev, Cosmonauts, 1982
From November, the works will be part of the new collection presentation Zerreißprobe. Art between Politics and Society. 1945 – 2000. collection of the Nationalgalerie, which opens on 17 November 2023. A total of 12 works from the collection have been loaned to Berlin as part of a collection sharing programme. This loan was made possible by a cooperation between the Peter and Irene Ludwig Foundation, the Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst and the Neue Nationalgalerie. This co-operation is intended to work in both directions — the Ludwig Forum will also be able to borrow works from the Neue Nationalgalerie’s collection — and is initially set to run for five years.
The cooperation was preceded by the exhibition The Cool and the Cold. Painting of the USA and the USSR 1960 — 1990. Ludwig Collection, which was on display at the Gropius Bau in Berlin from September 2021 to January 2022. The show critically juxtaposed US Pop Art with Soviet art from the Cold War era. More than 150 works from the Ludwig Collection, which are held internationally in various public museums as donations or permanent loans, were brought together for this exhibition. These include numerous works from the Soviet Union that utilise contemporary ideological imagery, as well as works of non-official art. A large part of this collection focus can now be found in the Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst in Aachen.
“I am delighted that we have been able to enter into this cooperation. Nothing makes more sense than helping each other to expand and update each other’s collections,” says Eva Birkenstock, Director of the Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst in Aachen.
“The exhibition The Cool and The Cold deliberately took place in Berlin, the historical focal point of the Cold War. We are delighted that the idea for this collection sharing cooperation was born at the same time. This now makes it possible for some important works of art from the former Soviet Union to meaningfully complement the collection presentation of the Neue Nationalgalerie,” says Carla Cugini, Managing Director of the Peter and Irene Ludwig Foundation.
“Despite the difficult relations with Russia in the current situation, the review of the period after 1945 would be incomplete without the inclusion of art from the former Soviet Union. The three selected works reflect different artistic strategies of this period and complement the Nationalgalerie’s collection, which has grown together from East and West.“
Joachim Jäger, Deputy Director of the Neue Nationalgalerie
The international Ludwig network is thus expanding to include a further renowned co-operation partner, for the first time in the context of collection sharing.