BERLIN.- On the occasion of Hamburger Bahnhof’s 30th anniversary, Ayşe Erkmen is commemorating the history of the museum’s historic building with a new artwork on its faade, recalling both its original function as a railway station and, since 1996, its role as a museum of contemporary art. The artist has maintained a close connection with Hamburger Bahnhof for more than 20 years. As part of her major solo exhibition in 2008, Erkmen overlaid the clock on the eastern tower and the decorative rosette on the western tower with a drawing. To mark the anniversary, she has developed a new version of the artwork, which has become a long term feature of the faade, complementing Dan Flavin’s iconic light installation as one of Hamburger Bahnhof’s defining visual landmarks in the city.
In 2008, on the occasion of her exhibition “Weggefhrten” (Companions), Erkmen created the temporary installation “no time/no flower”, which directly responded to two distinct elements of the otherwise symmetrical faade of the former railway station building with its two striking towers: she placed red, zigzagging metal lines over the clock on the eastern tower and the decorative rosette on the western tower. Revisiting this earlier temporary work, Erkmen has now created a gold-coloured version that gleams in the sunlight to celebrate the museum’s 30th anniversary. The graphic sculpture now permanently overlays the historic faade, highlighting the building’s role as a museum of contemporary art, where the art of the present is exhibited and preserved for the future. The work has been permanently installed on the museum faade.
Born in Istanbul, Ayşe Erkmen lives and works in Berlin and Istanbul. She studied sculpture at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul and participated in the Istanbul Biennials in 1989 and 1995. In 1993/94, she was invited to Berlin through the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program. This was followed by numerous solo exhibitions and group exhibitions, including Skulptur Projekte Mnster in 1997, her exhibition “Weggefhrten” at Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin in 2008, and representing Trkiye at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011. From 1998 onwards, she taught at the University of Kassel and at the Stdelschule in Frankfurt am Main, and from 2010 to 2015 she was Professor of Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts Mnster. In 2012, Erkmen became a member of the Academy of Arts in Berlin. In 2020, she received the Ernst Franz Vogelmann Prize for Contemporary Sculpture.
The “Endless Exhibition" includes 23 installations, interventions, and sculptures from Hamburger Bahnhof’s collection, which are permanent elements of the museum's interior and exterior spaces. Since June 2023, a free, self-guided tour with a microsite (https://endless-exhibition.de/en/) and booklet has led visitors through all parts of the museum complex, into the garden and the adjacent areas, linking the collection, history, building, and neighbourhood. The tour of artworks also includes Dan Flavin's iconic light installation from 1996 and historical sites such as the former Invalidenstrae border crossing and “The Missing House” by Christian Boltanski at Groe Hamburger Strae in Berlin Mitte. A new commissioned site-specific work by a Berlin-based artist is added to the "Endless Exhibition" every year: 2023 with a work by Judith Hopf, 2024 by Claudia Wieser and 2025 by Susan Philipsz.
The project is part of the 30 Years of Hamburger Bahnhof anniversary programme. In 2026, Hamburger Bahnhof celebrates its 30th anniversary with a programme bridging the site’s history and its future: eight special exhibitions, a new collection presentation, as well as performances and concerts that extend the museum’s reach into the city. Highlight will be the anniversary weekend, 14 – 15 November, featuring an international conference on the future of contemporary collection museums and a 30-hour continuous opening of the museum with free entrance.
Ayşe Erkmen’s project is curated by Gabriele Knapstein, Deputy Director and Head of Collections, Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart.
