MUNICH.- “Down there is a different world altogether. While the chaos of the wave rages above, the silent witnesses of the city’s history rest on the riverbed.” – Tao Schirrmacher

Since 2008, Tao Schirrmacher, European champion in river surfing, has been diving to the bottom of Munich’s Eisbach River to bring lost objects back to surface. What began with a single gold ring has grown over the years into an extensive collection of found objects and artifacts: jewellery, car keys, watches, cartridges and air pistols from the Second World War, devotional objects, papers, tools, telephones, cameras and much more. The finds are as varied as the stories they tell. Where do they come from? Who did they belong to? Some seem lost and forgotten, hidden deep beneath the surface. Others offer a glimpse of their past, such as two wedding rings that clearly belong together due to matching details and engravings. Yet the finds never quite finish telling their stories.

These objects gain meaning not through their material worth, but through what resonates within them – memories and connections to people, places, and meaningful moments. The collection, which Tao Schirrmacher named “Lost and Drowned” in 2008, grew from a desire to give these objects back their stories, or to tell new ones. “Eisbach Treasures” thus forges connections between Haus der Kunst, the Eisbach River, and Englischer Garten.

“Eisbach Treasures” is on display in Archiv Galerie, the centrally located exhibition space that serves as a visual record of Haus der Kunst’s complex history. The examination of architecture and legacy has been integral to the institution’s programme since the mid-1990s, and the artists who exhibit here actively engage in this process. Over the years, the gallery has become a home for independent and subcultural archives. Hosted in this space, Schirrmacher’s collection allows the memory of the city and that of the Haus to stand side by side for a moment.





Sabine Brantl, Head of Archive: “Tao Schirrmacher’s collection offers an unusual perspective on the city and its people, told through the objects that came to rest on the bed of the Eisbach over time. In one of Munich’s most famous waterways, in the immediate vicinity of Haus der Kunst, a hidden archive has thus emerged, preserving traces and records of urban life. The exhibition brings these artefacts to light, revealing what the city had long believed lost.”

Curated by Sabine Brantl.