The Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig presents one of its most important art treasures on almost the entire third floor, spread over 9 gallery rooms and the central hall: 20th and 21st century painting and sculpture. A new pictorial cosmos has been created, which does not aim to completely replace the old one, but does give it a different appearance. To this end, suggestions from visitors have been taken into account. New additions include lesser-known works from the MdbK's stacks that have not been shown for a long time, for example by Sabine Lessig or Willi Sitte, as well as new acquisitions and donations of paintings from the 20th and 21st centuries. In the Classical Modernism section, works by Eduard Einschlag and Abraham Jaskiel, two Jewish artists from Leipzig in the 1920s, are presented in the context of their Expressionist work. Leipzig in the context of their expressionist colleagues. For the first time, a work by the Ethiopian artist Getachew Yossef Hagoss, who studied at the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig (HGB) from 1981 to 1986, can also be discovered. The biggest change, however, concerns the central hall - this is where Leipzig art from the 1980s and 1990s meets the latest developments in painting.
The MdbK is closely interwoven with the development of art here, in particular with the Academy of Visual Arts. This unique selling point is clearly reflected in the museum's collection. The focus was and is on the art movements emerging from Leipzig, which were and are continuously supported through exhibition projects or targeted acquisitions. This focus culminated above all in the acquisition policy between 1949 and 1989. Art from the GDR had its qualitative powerhouse in Leipzig at the latest with the founding of the painting class by Bernhard Heisig at the art academy in 1961, from where it quickly gained international recognition under the term "Leipzig School". With almost 1,000 of a total of 4,000 paintings, this collection, which is so immensely important for the city's identity, has the largest share in the MdbK.
Bilderkosmos #2 dedicates an entire exhibition space to Max Beckmann from Leipzig, who was considered one of the most successful painters of the Weimar Republic and lived in exile after the National Socialists seized power. The exhibition also looks at the emergence of art movements such as Expressionism and New Objectivity and contextualizes the defamation of modern art during the National Socialist iconoclasm. Contemporary art in Leipzig, significantly influenced by Neo Rauch, but also by the younger generation of artists at the HGB who are seeking new stylistic means of expression in figurative painting, is also represented in the exhibition. From expressive painting strategies or sober-looking fine painting to abstract and ironic-naive attitudes of contemporary art, visitors can experience the diversity of Leipzig art in the exhibition.
