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Visual Arts Section

The Visual Arts Section has been in existence for as long as the Akademie der Künste itself. Together with architecture, it constituted the core of the “Academie der Mahl-, Bild- und Baukunst”, which was founded in 1696 by Frederick III.

Two people are looking at pictures displayed in an exhibition room
The Murmur of the Cosmos. Sandra Vásquez de la Horra. Käthe Kollwitz Prize 2023, exhibition view, Akademie der Künste, 2024
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024 / photo: Akademie der Künste

About the Section

The members of the section represent the full range of different disciplines covered by the visual arts. Their artistic and theoretical practices are centred on painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture and installation, performance, photography, film/video, conceptual and sound art, art criticism and curatorial work.

The members are active generators of ideas, operating as partners in collaborative undertakings, as curators or as contributors to numerous projects. They have been involved in initiating and implementing exhibitions, lecture series, events and symposia that engage with a selection of artistic and technical concerns and have been led by their interdisciplinary focus to creatively explore a wide range of areas of tension.

Directors

Karin Sander, Director

Visual artist (installation, spatial installation, performance, photography)

Member of the Section (since 2007), Director (since 2021)

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Karin Sander
Karin Sander
© Jens Ziehe

Arnold Dreyblatt, Deputy Director

Installation and performance artist, composer and musician

Member of the Section (since 2007), Deputy Director (since 2021)

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Arnold Dreyblatt
Arnold Dreyblatt
© Jens Ziehe

Former Directors

Former directors are Wulf Herzogenrath (2012–2021), Robert Kudielka (2003–2012), Michael Schoenholtz (1997–2003) and Rolf Szymanski (1993–1997).

Former deputy directors are Birgit Hein (2012–2021), Hermann Pitz (2006–2012), Klaus Staeck (1997–2006) and Frank Badur (1994–1997).

Members

The section is made up of international members who are active in the fields of painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture and installation, performance, photography, film/video, conceptual and sound art, art criticism and curatorial practice.

All Members of the Section (in German)

Programme

Exhibitions, projects and events

The section’s activities are centred on exhibitions by members, shows with interdisciplinary themes and group exhibitions, as well as monographic presentations (e.g. on Carlfriedrich Claus, John Cage, Iannis Xenakis, Mirosław Bałka or Terry Fox), developed by the Akademie itself or in cooperation with other institutions or universities.

Exhibition rooms with pictures featuring various patterns composed of dots
Bridget Riley: Circles and Discs (1961–2023), exhibition view, Kurt Tucholsky Literaturmuseum, 2024
© Akademie der Künste / photo: Jörg von Bruchhausen

In recent  years, specific artistic questions and key themes in contemporary art have been examined in exhibitions, research projects and symposia involving different sections of the Akademie: The Demand for Form  – O Desejo da Forma (2010), New Departures: Painting and Real Space (2012), lens-based sculpture (2013), Vertigo of Reality (2014), Uncertain States – Artistic Strategies in States of Emergency (2016), Magic Media – Media Magic (2019), NOTHINGTOSEENESS (2021) and The Future of Critique (2022).

Each year the Visual Arts Section also presents the work of one of its members at the Kurt Tucholsky Literature Museum in Rheinsberg Palace and stages an exhibition for the winner of the Käthe Kollwitz Prize at the Akademie der Künste, organised in conjunction with the awards ceremony.

News

Prizes and Fellowships

The Visual Arts Section awards prizes and fellowships that include the Berlin Art Prize – Jubilee Endowment 1848/1948 in the visual arts category, the Käthe Kollwitz Prize, which is presented annually in cooperation with the Käthe Kollwitz Museum Köln (Cologne), the Will Grohmann Prize and the Daniel Chodowiecki Prize for Polish Drawing and Graphic Design.

The section also nominates international fellows each year for the JUNGE AKADEMIE’s residency and work fellowship in Berlin as well as for the three-month residency at Villa Serpentara in Olevano Romano in Italy. It is also responsible for awarding the Saarland Fellowship.

Publications

Contact

Dr. Anke Hervol
Secretary of the Section

T +49 (0)30 200 57 1536
hervol@adk.de

Dr. Angela Lammert
Head of Interdisciplinary Projects

T +49 (0)30 200 57 1517
lammert@adk.de

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