Sammlung Goetz in Munich: Information about the museum and artists

Exhibitions and highlights of the Sammlung Goetz in Oberföhring (currently closed due to renovation)

The changing exhibitions show contemporary works from the fields of painting, sculpture, graphics, photography, film and installation from the art treasure trove that the collector Ingvild Goetz has amassed. We take you on a short trip around the world through the highlights of the collection:

• Arte Povera (Italy): “Poor art” is considered to be one of the most important art movements of the 20th century in Italy. It included artists such as Alighiero Boetti, Luciano Fabro, Jannis Kounellis, Pino Pascali, Giulio Paolini and Emilio Prini, who created impressive spatial installations using ordinary, everyday materials such as earth, wood and glass.
• Gutai (Japan): After the end of the Second World War, Gutai was one of the most innovative groups of artists in Japan. Founding father Jiro Yoshihara attracted numerous young painters. The group name 'Gutai' can be translated as 'concrete, tangible, material'. In their works, the members experimented with the changeability and volatility of earth, mud, water, wind, fire, smoke and sunlight - but the most important point of reference remained the exploration of painting.
• Young British Artists: The focus here is not on the famous works of Damien Hirst or Jake & Dinos Chapman, but on works by artists with a socio-critical approach. One of the highlights, for example, is the installation “The Smoking Room” (1997) by Sarah Lucas, a room lined with newspapers from the Yellow Press that has turned completely yellow from the smoke. Another eye-catcher: “All The Loving” (1997), a fabric-covered and embroidered box by artist Tracey Emin, filled with her own underwear.
• Individual contributions by international artists: In addition to the artistic groupings, there are also exciting individual positions such as Pawel Althamer, Rodney Graham, Mona Hatoum, Roni Horn, Ulrike Ottinger, Thomas Schütte, Cindy Sherman and Rosemarie Trockel to discover. Particularly impressive works include “Bródno People” (2010), a group of life-size, ragged figures by Polish artist Pawel Althamer, and the two-part photo light box “Allegory of Folly” (2005) by Canadian artist Rodney Graham. Other highlights include the “Berlin Trilogy” by Ulrike Ottinger, which comprises three films, and the sculpture “Steel Woman No. 12” (2003) by Thomas Schütte, which is exhibited in the museum garden and has become a landmark of the Sammlung Goetz.

Online offer: Discover the Sammlung Goetz digitally during the renovation

• While the museum building is closed, you can discover the works from the media art collection and the online presentations of various exhibitions digitally: Visit the Goetz Digital Collection.
• With the award-winning Sammlung Goetz web app, you can experience art with all your senses when visiting the exhibitions at the cooperation locations! After the reopening, the exhibitions in the original building in Munich-Oberföhring will also be digitally supplemented in the app.
• An interactive tour with the WebApp, video tutorials on YouTube and much more for children can be found in the Sammlung Goetz Kids Digital section.

Exhibition building and architecture in Oberföhring (currently closed for renovation)

The exhibition building of the internationally important collection of contemporary art is located in an inconspicuous garden on a main road, halfway between Munich and Unterföhring. The architects of the building were Herzog & de Meuron, who were still unknown at the time.

Many architecture enthusiasts make the pilgrimage from far and wide to visit this early building by the Swiss architectural duo Jaques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. They designed the exhibition building in 1989/90, completed it in 1993 and, as a result, became internationally known.

From the outside, the building looks like a floating “box” made of birch wood. This impression is created by the clever use of glass, reinforced concrete, wood and aluminum. In order to create optimal conditions for the presentation of works of art on a minimal footprint, the room volumes were intelligently interlocked to create two almost identical exhibition floors with natural light.