Joseph Beuys
Plastics and Environments from the collection of Lothar Schirmer and Lenbachhaus
01.01.1980 - 12.12.2025 ,
Lenbachhaus
- Ticket shop.
- Museum café.
- Shop.
The presentation in Franz von Lenbach’s studio wing offers a comprehensive overview of Joseph Beuys's work in sculpture, with key pieces from all stages of his creative evolution. Stove, Bathtub, Hare's Grave, and many other works illustrate the range of sculptural possibilities that Beuys explored between 1948 and 1968. After 1970, he focused his energies on making sprawling large-format installations. The two iconic environments show your wound (1974/75) and before the departure from camp I (1970/80) exemplify this phase in his oeuvre.
In February 1976, Joseph Beuys (1921 – 86) realized the environment zeige deine Wunde (show your wound) at the Kunstforum in Munich. The acquisition of the work for the Lenbachhaus in 1979 occasioned a public debate over the value of contemporary art. The purchase was seen as a provocative act, but also as an effort on the part of the museum to open up a new dimension for its collection. For the first time, the Lenbachhaus bought a significant work of art whose author's life and work bore no particular relation to Munich. In January 1980, Beuys installed the environment in Franz Lenbach’s former studio wing. He observed that in this concert of objects, it is not I who speak; the things have their own inner language. Comprehending it is something everyone has to do for himself or herself.
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Last edited on 16.01.2025
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