Hier ist die Gegenwart

25 years of the Gallery of Contemporary Art

 

On 24 February 1997, after four years of construction, the opening of the Gallery of Contemporary Art of the Hamburger Kunsthalle took place. The 25th anniversary in 2022 is to be celebrated by focusing the exhibition programme on the theme of the »present« . On that occasion, there will be a special offer in 2022:

Everyone aged 25 and under is invited to visit the Hamburger Kunsthalle for free throughout the year.

This applies to the entire collection, including the current presentations, as well as to all current and upcoming exhibitions at the Gallery of Contemporary Art, except of the exhibitions Class Society. Everyday Life as Seen by Dutch Masters. With Lars Eidinger and Stefan Marx (until 27 March 2022) and Femme fatale (from 9 December 2022). Tickets are available both at the museum box office and via online ticketing.

The present exists in distinction from the past and the future. But where does the future begin and where does the past end? For the living being, the present is the ongoing now, the long time of the lasting moment. And so the present is actually the longest time. On the other hand, the present is already over in every second, it is a flying moment of the now that cannot be grasped.

This contradiction, this enigma, should be made fruitful in the discussion of art. For the present, like art, always has at least two dimensions: a spatial and a temporal one. In the museum, we experience the spatial presence of art and either our own temporal present, from which we try to understand art. Or, with regard to older art, we can try to imagine the temporal present in which it was created. 

With the Gallery of Contemporary Art, the present did not only get place 25 years ago. But the present is the programme of the entire Hamburger Kunsthalle. The present makes the museum a stage, a place of ideas and insights, a platform for artists and artistic projects, and a place for all of us, where society can meet.