The name of Arnold Bode (1900-1977) is inextricably linked to the documenta, which as the “Museum of 100 Days” has a permanent place in the international art scene.
As an initiator, curator, networker, restless promoter and unconventional designer, he laid the foundation for this exhibition event in 1955. Opened in the same time with documenta fifteen, the retrospective “Arnold Bode Unframed” is dedicated to his painterly and graphic work and thus to a little-known side of the documenta founder.
Bode drew and painted continuously throughout his life. He reflected on the current artistic developments from Expressionism and New Objectivity to informal painting of the post-war period. His artistic path is reflected in numerous exhibition participations, memberships in artist groups and in his teaching at the Werkakademie in Kassel, which he co-founded after the war.
Supplemented by archive material, the Bode show in the Neue Galerie presents more than 80 works from six decades, from the student days at the Kassel Art Academy in the 1920s to the extensive late work. It offers an insight into the rich and changeable oeuvre. It’s time to rediscover his work!
