Serielle Formationen. 1967/2017

Re-staging of the first German exhibition of international tendencies in Minimalism

June 3rd — November 5th 2017
Mercedes-Benz Contemporary

The exhibition ‘Serielle Formationen’ (‘Serial Formations’), jointly curated by Peter Roehr and Paul Maenz for the Frankfurter Universität’s studio gallery in 1967, can be seen as the first thematic exhibition on Minimalist trends in Germany. In the context of its exhibition series ‘Minimalism in Germany’, which started in 2005, the Mercedes-Benz Art Collection is making a first attempt to re-stage the historical presentation.

‘Serielle Formationen’ was an outstanding exhibition that brought together the contemporary trends of the period. In particular, it showed artwork by artists from Germany and elsewhere side by side. A total of 62 artworks by 48 artists were selected because they were pictures and objects with ‘serial order’ as a visual feature—although the concepts behind them were highly diverse and sometimes downright contradictory. The European Zero movement was represented, alongside manifestations of Nouveau Réalisme, Pop Art and Op Art and American Minimal and Conceptual Art. The exhibition was accompanied by an ambitious catalogue containing six original graphical works and extensive artwork documentation and artist statements. “The ambition of ‘Serielle Formationen’ was to inform and to identify the differences between seemingly similar art phenomena.” (Maenz)

The exhibition presents works from the Mercedes-Benz Art Collection as well as loans from German and international collections.

Participating artists
Carl Andre (USA), Arman (F/USA), Thomas Bayrle (D), Ronald Bladen (CAN), Hans Breder (D/USA), Enrico Castellani (I), Christo und Jeanne-Claude (BG/USA and F/USA), Jan Dibbets (NL), May Fasnacht (D), Eberhard Fiebig (D), Dan Flavin (USA), Raimund Girke (D), Hermann Goepfert (D), Kuno Gonschior (D), Hans Haacke (D), Jan Henderikse (NL), Ewerdt Hilgemann (D), Bernhard Höke (D), Donald Judd (USA), Jiří Kolář (CZ), Yayoi Kusama (JP), Walter Leblanc (BEL), Thomas Lenk (D), Sol LeWitt (USA), Konrad Lueg (D), Adolf Luther (D), Piero Manzoni (I), Agnes Martin (CAN/USA), Almir da Silva Mavignier (BR), Henk Peeters (NL), Larry Poons (JP/USA), Charlotte Posenenske (D), Markus Raetz (CH), Bridget Riley (GB), Peter Roehr (D), Dieter Roth (CH), Felix Schlenker (D), Wolfgang Schmidt (D), Jan Schoonhoven (NL), Klaus Staudt (D), Michael Steiner (USA), Frank Stella (USA), Paul Talman (CH), Günther Uecker (D), Victor Vasarely (HU), Herman de Vries (NL), Andy Warhol (USA), gruppe x (D)

Further works from the Mercedes-Benz Art Collection related to serial formations by:
Karl-Heinz Adler (D), Hartmut Böhm (D), Hal Busse (D), Hanne Darboven (D), Rolf Glasmeier (D), Hermann Glöckner (D), Mathias Goeritz (D), Gerhard von Graevenitz (D), Marie-Luise Heller (D), Hans-Peter Hoch (D), Oskar Holweck (D), Heinz Mack (D), Christian Megert (CH), Christian Roeckenschuss (D), Eckhard Schene (D), Mike Steiner (D) (Loan), Franz Erhard Walther (D)

 

Curator 2017: Renate Wiehager
Curators 1967: Paul Maenz and Peter Roehr

 

Downloads

Artists

Events

  • -
    Mercedes-Benz Contemporary Berlin
    All this, darling, will once belong to the canon of art history... (in English)
    Busse, group x, Heller, Posenenske, Roehr, Schmidt
    In addition to artists such as Arman, Sol LeWitt or Andy Warhol who are part of the ‘canon’ today, the current exhibition in the Mercedes-Benz Contemporary also presents works by artists who are in the process of being ›rediscovered‹ by art historians. They include Hal Busse, the members of group x, Bernhard Höke, Wolfgang Schmidt or Michael Steiner, whose works were either on show in the historic ›Serielle Formationen‹ exhibition or are part of the same artistic environment. The tour follows the traces of these relatively ›unknown‹ artists on the basis of selected works in the current exhibition.
  • -
    Mercedes-Benz Contemporary Berlin
    Childrens' workshop
    Our 2.5 hours workshop is for elemantary school kids between 6 and 9 years and is in German language. After a ´get to know each other` there will be child-oriented guided tours through our current show "Serielle Formationen. 1967/2017". During the tour, the children will be animated to explore the artworks as well as seriality and to playfully solve tasks in little groups. Afterwards, the children will make artist books according to the idea of seriality.
    The childrens' workshop is a summer holiday program and will take place weekly on every Thursay. Please register at least three days in advance via email to: Nathalie.stelmach@daimler.com.
    The workshop is free of charge and in German language.
    Please do not wear new clothes.
  • -
    Mercedes-Benz Contemporary Berlin
    Childrens' workshop
    Our 2.5 hours workshop is for elemantary school kids between 6 and 9 years and is in German language. After a ´get to know each other` there will be child-oriented guided tours through our current show "Serielle Formationen. 1967/2017". During the tour, the children will be animated to explore the artworks as well as seriality and to playfully solve tasks in little groups. Afterwards, the children will make artist books according to the idea of seriality.
    The childrens' workshop is a summer holiday program and will take place weekly on every Thursay. Please register at least three days in advance via email to: Nathalie.stelmach@daimler.com.
    The workshop is free of charge and in German language.
    Please do not wear new clothes.
  • -
    Mercedes-Benz Contemporary Berlin
    Serial Formations and their various implications (in English)
    Andre, LeWitt, Posenenske, Roehr
    This tour presents important trends in abstract art in the 1960s and examines the origin and development of ZERO, Minimal and Concept Art. Although the works have in common a ‘serial order’ as a visual feature, the concepts behind them are highly diverse and sometimes completely contradictory. The tour focuses on different approaches to aesthetic, ideological and historical questions.
  • -
    Mercedes-Benz Contemporary Berlin
    Childrens' workshop
    Our 2.5 hours workshop is for elemantary school kids between 6 and 9 years and is in German language. After a ´get to know each other` there will be child-oriented guided tours through our current show "Serielle Formationen. 1967/2017". During the tour, the children will be animated to explore the artworks as well as seriality and to playfully solve tasks in little groups. Afterwards, the children will make artist books according to the idea of seriality.
    The childrens' workshop is a summer holiday program and will take place weekly on every Thursay. Please register at least three days in advance via email to: Nathalie.stelmach@daimler.com.
    The workshop is free of charge and in German language.
    Please do not wear new clothes.
  • -
    Mercedes-Benz Contemporary Berlin
    Childrens' workshop
    Our 2.5 hours workshop is for elemantary school kids between 6 and 9 years and is in German language. After a ´get to know each other` there will be child-oriented guided tours through our current show "Serielle Formationen. 1967/2017". During the tour, the children will be animated to explore the artworks as well as seriality and to playfully solve tasks in little groups. Afterwards, the children will make artist books according to the idea of seriality.
    The childrens' workshop is a summer holiday program and will take place weekly on every Thursay. Please register at least three days in advance via email to: Nathalie.stelmach@daimler.com.
    The workshop is free of charge and in German language.
    Please do not wear new clothes.
  • -
    Mercedes-Benz Contemporary Berlin
    The banality and symbolism of material (in English)
    Breder, Goepfert, Hilgemann, Judd, LeWitt, Posenenske, Uecker
    Visitors to exhibitions in the 1960s were confronted with new materials such as perspex, aluminum, plywood, PVC film, steel, automotive paint, cardboard, cotton fabrics and rough-cut stone slabs. Thus, the demand for de-individualization, objectification and democratization is often formulated on the material level with a shock effect. Ideologically biased materials and techniques - pedestals, cast bronze, canvas, frames - were replaced by mass-produced goods. The tour attempts to uncover various symbolic implications of the new materials.

  • -
    Mercedes-Benz Contemporary Berlin
    Childrens' workshop
    Our workshop is for children between 6-10 years and will start with an age-appropriate adventure guided tour through the current exhibition "Serielle
    Formationen. 1967/2017". During the tour, the children will be encouraged to deal with individual artworks and the topic of seriality. They will solve playful little tasks in small groups, which will enable different approaches to the art objects. Additionally, the children produce—according to seriality—artist´s books. On this occasion, they will learn different artistic techniques.

    Please register at least three days in advance via email to: Nathalie.stelmach@daimler.com.
    The workshop is free of charge and in German language.
    Please do not wear new clothes.

  • -
    Mercedes-Benz Contemporary Berlin
    Relax with art - workshop for adults
    Start: 6:30 p.m., duration: 2 hours

    Let yourself be inspired by and get creative with our current exhibition Serielle Formationen. 1967/2017. The workshop is aimed at all adults who want to bring the working day to a relaxing close. After a guided tour through the exhibition you will receive ideas and materials to help you realize your creative potential. In doing so, you can exchange information about what you have seen in a relaxed atmosphere and establish personal contacts with colleagues.

    The workshop is free of Charge and in German language. For your registration, please send an email to nathalie.stelmach@daimler.com.
  • -
    Mercedes-Benz Contemporary Berlin
    Childrens' workshop - fashion design
    Our Workshop is for children between 10-13 years and starts with an age-appropriate guided tour through the current exhibition Serielle Formationen. 1967/2017. During this tour the children will interact with the different artworks. Particular emphasis will be focused on the artists who worked in the fields of fashion, such as Thomas Bayrle who is well known for his raincoat collection from the 1960s. On this basis, the children design garments made of everyday materials. Afterwards the garments will be presented during a fashion show to the parents.


    Please register at least three days in advance via email to: Nathalie.stelmach@daimler.com.
    The workshop is free of charge and in German language.
    Please do not wear new clothes.
  • -
    Mercedes-Benz Contemporary Berlin
    The politicization of the serial in the visual art of the 1960s (in English)
    Bayrle, group x, Höke, Posenenske, Roehr
    Seriality is not only an analytical structural feature of Minimal Art. As a strategy aimed at anonymization and de-individualization, it was and still is a form of aesthetic and political appropriation of the world. Via seriality, artists in the 1960s attempted – often with reference to Roland Barthes’ ›Death of the Author‹ – to demystify the role of the author and bring about the democratization of art. This interrelationship between art and life is clearly demonstrated within the context of the exhibitions staged at Frankfurt University’s Studio Galerie, which is under the directorship of Siegfried Bartels. It was directly involved in the student protest movement in Frankfurt and the subject of articles in Diskus, a student magazine that is still published today. Examining both the artistic and cultural scene in Frankfurt at the time and international trends, the tour investigates artistic standpoints in the current exhibition in which serial formations were applied as possible strategies for the politicization of art.
  • -
    Daimler Conemtporary Berlin
    Relax with art - workshop for adults
    Start: 6:30 p.m., duration: 2 hours

    Let yourself be inspired by and get creative with our current exhibition Serielle Formationen. 1967/2017. The workshop is aimed at all adults who want to bring the working day to a relaxing close. After a guided tour through the exhibition you will receive ideas and materials to help you realize your creative potential. In doing so, you can exchange information about what you have seen in a relaxed atmosphere and establish personal contacts with colleagues.

    The workshop is free of Charge and in German language. For your registration, please send an email to nathalie.stelmach@daimler.com
  • -
    Mercedes-Benz Contemporary Berlin
    Curators talk with Paul Maenz and Renate Wiehager
    The exhibition ‘Serielle Formationen’ (‘Serial Formations’), jointly curated by Peter Roehr and Paul Maenz for the Frankfurter Universität’s studio gallery in 1967, can be seen as the first thematic exhibition on Minimalist trends in Germany. Paul Maenz and Renate Wiehager, the curator of the actual show, will discuss topics around the question, whether this first attempt to re-stage the historical presentation creates epistemic values.
  • -
    Mercedes-Benz Contemporary Berlin
    All This, Darling, Will Once Belong to the Canon of Art History... (in English)
    Busse, group x, Heller, Posenenske, Roehr, Schmidt
    In addition to artists such as Arman, Sol LeWitt or Andy Warhol who are part of the ‘canon’ today, the current exhibition in the Mercedes-Benz Contemporary also presents works by artists who are in the process of being ›rediscovered‹ by art historians. They include Hal Busse, the members of group x, Bernhard Höke, Wolfgang Schmidt or Michael Steiner, whose works were either on show in the historic ›Serielle Formationen‹ exhibition or are part of the same artistic environment. The tour follows the traces of these relatively ›unknown‹ artists on the basis of selected works in the current exhibition.

  • -
    Mercedes-Benz Contemporary Berlin
    The Serial in Music
    This evening seeks to highlight the diverse approaches to ‘The Serial in Music’ by presenting a panel of contemporary musicians and theorists who are literally playing these ideas today. Influenced by scientific reference systems, Carsten Nicolai often engages mathematic patterns such as grids and codes, as well as error, random and self-organizing structures. Ralf Diemert is an international booking agent and nation-wide tour promoter based in Berlin. His current roster has a strong focus on modern/ contemporary classic, minimal and electronic music. Reflecting his background in physics and architecture, Ali M. Demirel has established a unique visual style with minimal electronic music. Following the panel and public discussion, he will perform an audio/visual work.
    Organization in cooperation with Cagil Ozdemir and Murat Sezgi.
  • -
    Mercedes-Benz Contemporary Berlin
    All This, Darling, Will Once Belong to the Canon of Art History... (in English)
    Busse, group x, Heller, Posenenske, Roehr, Schmidt
    In addition to artists such as Arman, Sol LeWitt or Andy Warhol who are part of the ‘canon’ today, the current exhibition in the Mercedes-Benz Contemporary also presents works by artists who are in the process of being ›rediscovered‹ by art historians. They include Hal Busse, the members of group x, Bernhard Höke, Wolfgang Schmidt or Michael Steiner, whose works were either on show in the historic ›Serielle Formationen‹ exhibition or are part of the same artistic environment. The tour follows the traces of these relatively ›unknown‹ artists on the basis of selected works in the current exhibition.

  • -
    Mercedes-Benz Contemporary Berlin
    Finissage with artist talks and book presentation of "Duchamp as Curator"
    As part of a finissage, the artists Klaus Staudt and Ewerdt Hilgemann will discuss their artistic practice as an addition as well as counter part to the works displayed in "Serielle Formationen. 1967/2017". Also, the editors Renate Wiehager and Katharina Neuburger will present their newly released and first substantial publication on the topic "Duchamp as curator". Eight essays by well-known authors, analyzing Duchamp’s numerous curatorial gestures as well as introductions to two important German Duchamp research institutions are part of this book.

    Artist talk with Ewerdt Hilgemann, start: 3 p.m.
    Book presentation "Duchamp as Curator", start: 3:30 p.m.
    Artist talk with Klaus Staudt, start: 4 p.m.
    German language, free of charge and registration

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