The Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart was founded in

1827 Events January–March * January 5 – The first regatta in Australia is held, taking place in Tasmania (called at the time ''Van Diemen's Land''), on the River Derwent at Hobart. * January 15 – Furman University, founded in 1826, b ...

and is one of the oldest art associations in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The association, which today has around 3,000 members, is based in the Kunstgebäude Stuttgart and is dedicated to communicating contemporary art. The curator and publicist Martin Fritz has been the chairman of the Württembergischer Kunstverein, which belongs to the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Kunstvereine (ADKV), since 2018. It is an exhibition center for contemporary painting, graphics, photography, video art, installation, performance and architecture. The association is currently setting a number of focal points, which serve as a thematic background for the exhibition program and for other activities such as lectures, conferences or the awarding of scholarships.

History

One of the founding fathers of the Württembergischer Kunstverein was the lawyer and painter Carl Urban Keller, who initially ran the association as a voluntary curator. The aim of the association was to get the ''bourgeoisie'' interested in art, as well as to purchase, exhibit and raffle works by local artists. As with other art associations that were founded at the time, membership consisted in the purchase of shares, with which one could take part in the raffle and thus acquire art privately. The Württembergischer Kunstverein has been based in the art building on Schloßplatz designed by

Theodor Fischer Theodor Fischer (28 May 1862 – 25 December 1938) was a German architect and teacher. Career Fischer planned public housing projects for the city of Munich beginning in 1893. He was the joint founder and first chairman of the Deutscher W ...

since 1913 and has seen itself as a place for dealing with

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

ever since. In the 1930s, like all art associations, it was brought into line under the National Socialist government in the

Reich Chamber of Culture The Reich Chamber of Culture (''Reichskulturkammer'', abbreviated as RKK) was a government agency in Nazi Germany. It was established by law on 22 September 1933 in the course of the ''Gleichschaltung'' process at the instigation of Reich Ministe ...

. In March 1933, for example, the first major retrospective of

Oskar Schlemmer Oskar Schlemmer (; 4 September 1888 – 13 April 1943) was a German painter, sculptor, designer and choreographer associated with the Bauhaus school. In 1923, he was hired as Master of Form at the Bauhaus theatre workshop, after working at the ...

, with his main work Bauhaus Stairs, was closed by the new rulers before it even opened. The art building was almost completely destroyed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The reconstruction, which is linked to a modern extension building, was only completed in 1961. The gallery of the city of Stuttgart also moved into the rooms of the art building with the Kunstverein, which now consists of the historic complex with a domed hall and gallery rooms, the new so-called quadrangular hall designed by

Paul Bonatz Paul Bonatz (6 December 1877 – 20 December 1956) was a German architect, member of the Stuttgart School and professor at the technical university in that city during part of World War II, and from 1954 until his death. He worked in many styl ...

and Günther Wilhelm, and a glass connecting wing between the old and new buildings. In 2005, the gallery of the city of Stuttgart moved out of the art building and moved into the new art museum just a few hundred meters away. Since 2012, the Württembergischer Kunstverein has been permanently located in the new complex of the art building. The exhibition ''The Beast is Sovereign'', conceived together with the

Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona The Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (, , MACBA, ) is a contemporary art museum situated in the Plaça dels Àngels, in El Raval neighborhood, Ciutat Vella district, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The museum opened to the public on 28 Novembe ...

(MACBA), was named ''Exhibition of the Year'' in 2015 by the German art critics' association AICA.

Directors

* Alice Widensohler (1946–1965) * Dieter Honisch (1965–1968) * Uwe M. Schneede (1968–1973) * Tilman Osterwold (1973–1993) * Martin Hentschel (1994–2000) * Andreas Jürgensen (2001–2003) * Hans D. Christ and Iris Dressler (since 2005)

References

{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Stuttgart German artists Museums in Stuttgart Culture in Stuttgart Organisations based in Stuttgart Tourist attractions in Stuttgart