To mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations being established between Germany and Israel, masterpieces from the collection of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art are being shown at the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin. "This is a gesture of reconciliation and friendship," said Monika Grütters, Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.
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The name of the exhibition alone underlines the fact that it is something very special - "The Century Mark". It is in fact the first time that works from the Tel Aviv Museum of Art have been shown in Europe. The exhibition has been organised to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishing of diplomatic relations between Germany and Israel.
Seventy years after the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp, the very fact that the exhibition is taking place at all is "impressive and moving" said Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media Monika Grütters at the opening. She pointed out that this is the first time these works have been seen in Germany since the Second World War, in some cases the first time they have every been seen in Germany – in Berlin, the city from which the Nazi regime unleashed tyranny and barbarism across Europe.
"It is nothing short of a miracle that today countless bridges have been built across this abyss of German and European history," stressed Monika Grütters.
This year Germany and Israel are celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the establishing of diplomatic relations on 12 May 1965. Since then German-Israeli relations have been continuously stepped up and deepened both at official level and in the field of civil society. Cultural relations play a very important part in this. The new German-Hebrew translation prize is to be awarded for the first time in 2015. Last year Monika Grütters and her Israeli counterpart also agreed to cooperate closely in the field of provenance research.
In the meantime trust has flourished and the two nations have become close not only at state and diplomatic level, but also within civil society, noted the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. She pointed to cultural and education work, to research and to the many personal contacts that now exist between young Germans and their counterparts in Israel. "We are grateful for these bridges."
The many new contacts that have grown around the wounds left by the Holocaust mean "that we are united not only in terms of guilt and pain, but also in friendship and reconciliation," underscored the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.
The Tel Aviv Museum of Art has sent 72 works of art to Berlin: paintings and sculptures by classical modernists, graphic works and pieces by contemporary Israeli media artists. The artists whose works are now on display in Berlin go from Alexander Archipenko to Maurice de Vlaminck and from Yael Bartana to Tamir Zadak.
Alongside works of Israeli artists that are little known in Germany, the exhibition includes numerous classic works that visitors can now rediscover. This is the concept at the heart of the exhibition, which juxtaposes modern works with contemporary video installations and drawings.
The exhibition is a dialogue that addresses personal, social and political issues, explained Suzanne Landau, Director and Chief Curator of the Tel Aviv Museum. "This reveals fascinating visual and media constellations and encourages visitors to re-interpret the pieces," she declared with conviction.
The Tel Aviv Museum of Art was founded in 1932. It is one of Israel’s most important cultural establishments. The founding director was the Berlin art historian Karl Schwarz, who headed the Museum from 1933 to 1947. The collection focuses largely on classical modernism and contemporary art, as well as contemporary Israeli art.