The Hamburger Kunsthalle is presenting the most extensive exhibition of the work of Philippe Vandenberg (1952–2009) to date, comprising some 80 paintings and over 120 drawings and prints. This is the first solo show at a German museum to feature the Flemish artist, who was highly acclaimed in his home country and whose radical and unsparing oeuvre is just now being discovered by a broader international audience.
The Hamburger Kunsthalle owns an important collection of international contemporary art from the 1960s to the present. One of the museum’s central missions is to preserve its collection for future generations and to continue to expand it through acquisitions and gifts. At the same time, it is a great pleasure to keep the collection alive and accessible to our visitors by presenting the works in changing constellations. HONEY, I REARRANGED THE COLLECTION tells of the joy of working with such a rich collection, highlighting its narrative abundance and diversity. HONEY, I REARRANGED THE COLLECTION – originally the title of a work group by the American artist Allen Ruppersberg – is a cordial invitation to (re)discover the Hamburger Kunsthalle’s collection of contemporary art. The large-scale presentation has been conceived to span a period of three years, with each year dedicated to a central realm of human knowledge and experience. The first exhibition addresses the relationship between people and things, the second will focus on interpersonal relationships, and the last on how we relate to the space that surrounds us.