MUNICH.- On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Pinakothek der Moderne a new presentation of some 350 works by more than 150 artists in the Sammlung Moderne Kunst is being displayed in an exhibition space extending over 3600 square metres. For the first time the exhibition programmatically titled MIX & MATCH brings together painting, sculpture, prints, photography and video art from different periods and in different media, displayed in thematically defined spaces. Unconventionally juxtaposed works of art spanning 120 years open up lively perspectives on pivotal contemporary questions.

Since the opening of the Pinakothek der Moderne in 2002, not only the holdings of the collection have grown and expanded. Against a background of social upheaval and crises, the museum as an institution frequently reassesses its core tasks and exhibition practices. In the course of globalisation and networking the wish has emerged to revise the Eurocentric and North American canon. A consciousness has been awakened to rediscover and make new discoveries within the history of art.

Profound social changes over the past twenty years have not only brought about a welcome rejuvenation and internationalisation to the Sammlung Moderne Kunst but also a conscious expansion of the formerly exclusive paintings collection to include sculpture, installations, photography and time-based media. A milestone in the expansion of the photographic holdings to include works from the first half of the 20th century was the affiliation of the Ann and Jürgen Wilde Foundation in 2010. In addition, the recently initiated cooperation with the Written Art Collection has broadened the collection’s spectrum to include the cultural regions of the Near and Middle East as well as East Asia.

The new tour of the collection highlights contents that are of increasing relevance to 21st–century society such as social cohesion, migration movements, new forms of work or environmental issues. Artists, however, are also re-examining genres and motifs rich in art-historical tradition, ranging from the nude, the self-portrait or images of nature to aesthetic concepts within the fields of anti-academic or spiritual art.

The tour begins quite consciously with two works created more than eighty years apart: August Macke’s painting ‘Mädchen unter Bäumen’ (Girls under Trees, 1914) and the video work ‘Kindergarten Antonio Sant’ Elia, 1932’ (1998) by David Claerbout. Through the progressive juxtaposition of paintings suggesting movement by means of their Expressionist colouration with photographs in motion, the differences – and also the similarities – between respective artistic approaches and means of expression become palpable.

As a presentation spanning genres and epochs, MIX & MATCH follows both the interdisciplinary notion behind the founding of the Pinakothek der Moderne as well as the awareness for diversity and change prevalent in the present day. As a consequence, MIX & MATCH is not a static presentation. Sensitive works on paper, photographs or textile works will be exchanged at regular intervals. Through these rehangings new dialogues will be created that will allow significantly more exhibits from the rich holdings to be shown, some of which have never been on display before. A repeat visit is therefore more than worthwhile!

Anniversary year artists include: Herbert Achternbusch, Bas Jan Ader, Etel Adnan, Siegfried Anzinger, Ida Applebroog, Joannis Avramidis, Monika Baer, Lewis Baltz, Georg Baselitz, Bernd & Hilla Becher, Max Beckmann, Laurenz Berges, Benjamin Bergmann, Joseph Beuys, Aenne Biermann, Karl Blossfeldt, Alighiero Boetti, André Butzer, Heinrich Campendonck, Lovis Corinth, David Claerbout, Robert Delaunay, Rineke Dijkstra, Peter Doig, César Domela, Carroll Dunham, Tracey Emin, Dan Flavin, Max Ernst, Omer Fast, Lee Friedlander, Otto Freundlich, Franz Gertsch, Rupprecht Geiger, Carl Grossberg, Katharina Grosse, Andreas Gursky, Hans Hartung, Haubitz + Zoche, Florence Henri, Jenny Holzer, Axel Hütte, Alexej Jawlensky, Asger Jorn, Wassily Kandinsky, On Kawara, Mike Kelley, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Paul Klee, Jochen Klein, Oskar Kokoschka, Helmut Kolle, Käthe Kollwitz, Germaine Krull, Marie-Jo Lafontaine, Bo Christian Larsson, Maria Lassnig, Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Eva Leitolf, Zoe Leonard, Carl Lohse, August Macke, René Magritte, Mark Manders, Franz Marc, Henri Matisse, Jonathan Meese, Stephan Melzl, Olaf Metzel, Giorgio Morandi, Otto Mueller, Nicholas Nixon, Henrik Olesen, Martin Parr, Beate Passow, A. R. Penck, Paul Pfeiffer, Pablo Picasso, Adrian Piper, Sigmar Polke, Carl Theodor Protzen, Neo Rauch, Franz Radziwill, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Germaine Richier, Gerhard Richter, August Sander, Christian Schad, Josef Scharl, Oskar Schlemmer, Michael Schmidt, Bernard Schulze, George Segal, Friedrich Seidenstücker, Tschabalala Self, Gino Severini, Renée Sintenis, Thomas Steffl, Norbert Tadeusz, Rosemarie Trockel, Luc Tuymans, Andy Warhol, Jeff Wall, Fritz Winter, Amelie von Wulffen.