Ruhr 2010
Lehmbruck Museum
Germany’s ‘Ruhrgebiet’ (Ruhr Area, named after the river running through it) is one of many cities and regions around the world using culture to reinvent itself. In its role as 2010 European Capital of Culture (the first time the award has been given to a whole region), and with the slogan ‘Change through culture – culture through change’, the Ruhr Area is for the very first time presenting 20 art museums in 15 cities in a joint exhibition project called Mapping the Region. Collectively, the museums hold one of the largest modern art collections in the world.
The architectures of the museums is every bit as diverse as their collections, with exhibitions taking place in palaces, former industrial plants and some significant new buildings. Over the next three issues, Artmag will be highlighting three of the participating cities.
Museum Küppersmühle für Moderne Kunst
DUISBURG
Named after the Duisburg-born sculptor William Lehmbruck (1881- 1919), the Lehmbruck Museum is a centre for international, modernist sculpture. As well as Lehmbruck’s works, there are pieces by Giacometti, Barbara Hepworth, Calder, Picasso, Ernst, Rodin and many others. Set in a park dotted with sculptures, the museum has spacious, light-filled galleries with open views from floor to floor. www.lehmbruckmuseum.de
Comprising 51 gallery spaces, the Museum DKM caters to both contemporary and traditional tastes, including ancient Asian and Egyptian art, statues, busts, vintage and contemporary photography and sound installation. The labyrinthine, multi-level complex of three buildings has five themed display areas. Picture windows look out onto staged views with sculptural pieces in the surrounding courtyard www.museum-dkm.de
The Museum Küppersmühle für Moderne Kunst (MKM) is housed in a huge, red brick building previously used as a corn mill and storage silo. The MKM has one of the most extensive collections of post-WWII German art, including works by Joseph Beuys, Anselm Kiefer and Gerhard Richter, There are also up to five exhibitions a year of international art. As befitting the size of the building (it has six metre high ceilings), the artworks too are large scale. www.museum-kueppersmuehle.de – Ian Sclater