SISTERS & BROTHERS
The majority of us grew up in a family, and although we usually leave the family as young adults, we mostly continue to stay in contact with our original family. What we experience in our ‘family’, whether as an only child or with siblings, exerts an influence on our whole life. Surprisingly, the longest and often most intense relationship in the life of each one of us – that with our siblings – has scarcely been investigated so far in the sciences and has surely never been the theme of an art exhibition.
With the exhibition “Sisters & Brothers. 500 Years of Siblings in Art” the Kunsthalle Tübingen aims to make the first comprehensive documentation of the emotional theme of sibling relationships in the fine arts, and to do so on the basis of about 100 works. From the perspective of cultural history and by way of a chronological tour, the paintings, sculptures, objects and videos on show visualise how the depiction of siblings changes from the 16th century to the present. This leads from the beautiful appearance in genre painting via the romantic and bourgeois image of siblings to contemporary depictions. What also emerges is that contemporary artists not only critically and ironically fracture the historical depictions of siblings in their works, but also undertake “deep drillings” of their own that throw light on the challenging sides of relationships with siblings. The artworks on show are complemented by objects from the field of cultural history, thus expanding the theme in the direction of everyday culture.
Accompanying the exhibition is a comprehensive interdisciplinary catalog with contributions by Tilman Allert, Nicole Fritz, Tilo Grabach, Zita Hartel, Bernd M. Meyer, Sabine Wienker-Piepho. The publication provides an important prelude to a long overdue, well-founded analysis of siblings in our society.
The exhibition will subsequently be taken over by the Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz, Austria.
Concept and curation: Dr. Nicole Fritz
Curatorial assistance: Zita Hartel and Lisa Maria Maier
An exhibition of the Kunsthalle Tübingen in cooperation with Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz
Artists of the exhibition
Nevin Aladağ, Joseph Beuys, Miriam Cahn, Eugène Carrière, Gustave Courbet, Otto Dix, VALIE EXPORT, Asana Fujikawa, Julie Hayward, Erich Heckel, Christine and Irene Hohenbüchler, Christian Jankowski, Alexej von Jawlensky, Hanns Ludwig Katz, Heinrich Kühn, August Macke, Nicholas Nixon, Idowu Oluwaseun, Helga Paris, Joanna Piotrowska, Emy Roeder, Anton Romako, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Thomas Schütte, Moritz von Schwind, Cindy Sherman, David Sulzer, Gert & Uwe Tobias, Erwin Wurm, Georg Friedrich Zundel, et al. a.
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