ERICH BUCHHOLZ – Art history is nothing but a fake

Erich Buchholz, »Architectural model studio Herkulesufer 15, Berlin«, 1922/1968, Foundation for Concrete Art and Design, Ingolstadt. Photo: Hubert P. Klotzeck.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the death of Erich Buchholz (1891-1972), the Kunsthaus Dahlem is presenting an exhibition in cooperation with the Foundation for Concrete Art Ingolstadt and the National Museum in Szczecin about the versatile artist, whose post-war oeuvre is now being presented for the first time prominently in focus. While Buchholz was a central figure of the German avant-garde until 1933, who was in intensive and friendly exchange with artists such as Hannah Höch and Richard Huelsenbeck, after 1945 he increasingly got into trouble as a left-liberal because of his artistic style, but probably also because of his political stance Offside. During this time, however, the painter, architect, sculptor, graphic artist and product designer constantly and quite provocatively took part in the art-historical discourse. Texts such as »Art history is nothing but a fake« (1972) or »In my case, official art history fails« (1969) are a reflection of his harsh criticism, which was often felt to be uncomfortable and which criticized the one-dimensionality of historiography. The exhibition not only presents Buchholz’s experimental and innovative works of art, but also numerous hitherto completely unknown and unpublished documents, as well as photographs and original manuscripts of his publications.

The exhibition was supported by the Hauptstadtkulturfonds.
Additional support by the Ministry of Finance, Land Brandenburg, and Freundeskreis Kunsthaus Dahlem – Bernhard Heiliger e. V.