Centenary of the Collection. Twenty Years of the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart
March 8–October 12, 2025
Stuttgart 70173
Germany
Hours: Tuesday–Thursday and Saturday–Sunday 10am–6pm
Friday 10am–9pm
T +49 711 21619600
info@kunstmuseum-stuttgart.de
In 1925, works from the City of Stuttgart art collection, then called the Städtische Gemäldesammlung (Municipal Painting Collection), were shown to the public for the first time in the Villa Berg. As the Galerie der Stadt Stuttgart (Stuttgart City Gallery), the collection was on display for many years in the Kunstgebäude, before finally moving in 2005 to a new building constructed especially for it at the Schlossplatz.
To mark this double anniversary, the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart is presenting an exhibition featuring solely works from its own collection—including numerous acquisitions and donations from recent years. Admission to the exhibition will be completely free of charge for its entire duration.
The exhibition was inspired by and takes its title from Dieter Roth’s monumental food picture Doppelkäseplatte (“Double Cheese Platter”). It consists of various types of cheese whose surface structure soon changed due to decomposition and mold processes. The work quickly grew—and matured. In his use of perishable materials, Roth poses programmatic questions about the production, reception, and momentum of art. This is precisely where the current exhibition has its point of departure: what does the municipal collection look like after a century? What sort of maturation processes does the collecting of art undergo? How does its perception and authority change over the years?
Structured into seven thematic rooms that bear the individual signatures of the Kunstmuseum’s curators, the exhibition highlights both the historical context of the collection and its relevance to today’s real-life issues—such as consumerism and racism. The juxtaposition of works that have not been on view for a long time, if ever, with recent donations and new acquisitions, creates a fascinating display.
The anniversary exhibition will be accompanied by a variety of concerts and artist talks, themed days, educational programs, and interventions in the permanent exhibition.
Artists Frank Ahlgrimm, Albrecht/d., atelierJAK, Yael Bartana, Tim Berresheim, Gerda Brodbeck, Andrea Büttner, Otto Dix, Karl Duschek, Simone Eisele, Dietrich Fricker, Peter Granser, Dana Greiner, Vivian Greven, August Hirsching, Susanne Hofmann, Christian Jankowski, Anne Marie Jehle, Emma Joos, Ida Kerkovius, Christian Adam Landenberger, Fritz Lang, Josephine Meckseper, Markus Oehlen, Hermann Pleuer, Otto Reiniger, Dieter Roth, K.R.H. Sonderborg, Anton Stankowski, Kara Walker, Ina Weber, Simone Westerwinter, Ben Willikens, Lambert Maria Wintersberger, André Wischnewski, Sonja Yakovleva, Haegue Yang, Hannah Zenger, Heinz Zolper
Mats Gustafsson: Hidros Mute(s): April 4, 7pm; April 6, 2pm
With Christine Abdelnour, Mats Gustafsson, Anna Högberg and Don Malfon, free admission
The Time of Beginning: May 9, 7pm
With Katharina Grosse, Farida Amadou, Sofia Jernberg and Stefan Schneider, free admission
Festival: Sound of Kleiner Schlossplatz: July 19, 12pm
Tribute to Kleiner Schlossplatz—featuring acts that have a connection to this special urban site
The Great Wayfinders I-IX (Höhlenmusik): September 20, 7pm
Musical project by Marcus Schmickler with stage design by Tim Berresheim
The anniversary exhibition is generously supported by
Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart
LBBW Landesbank Baden-Württemberg
Freunde des Kunstmuseums Stuttgart
MUSAGET
Otto F. Scharr-Stiftung
ernst von siemens musikstiftung
eberhard rommel stiftung
Artworks by Anton Stankowski in cooperation with
Wüstenrot Stiftung
Media partner
Weltkunst
Süddeutsche Zeitung
