Works on Paper

29.02. - 26.05.2024
 

The exhibition "Works on Paper" presents drawings of German post-war modernism from a previously unknown private collection.

The sculptor, draughtsman, and printmaker Heinz-Günter Prager began collecting works of art by other artists in the 1960s, mainly on paper, especially drawings by contemporary sculptors. These sheets document central artistic issues of their time.

After the Second World War, artists were looking for new forms of expression free from old world views and convictions. The young generation wanted to try out new perspectives and artistic approaches. They wanted to break with conventional ideas and question traditional pictorial concepts. It meant turning away from figurative representations while at the same time turning to geometric-abstract forms or clarifying the artistic act.

Drawings played a prominent role in this. They no longer merely prepared another piece but were instead perceived as works of art in their own right. They clarified attitudes, expressed criticism, and, above all, enabled artistic self-reflection.

After decades of a close relationship between the artist and the museum, the Germanisches Nationalmuseum acquired this previously unpublished collection in 2023.