Exhibitions

Paul Klee, Harmony of Rectangles with Red, Yellow, Blue, White and Black, 1923, Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern

Outline
"I cannot be grasped in the here and now. For my dwelling place is as much among the dead as the yet unborn." Paul Klee's gallery used this quote as a marketing device to sell his works in the 1920s, promoting an image of the artist engaged in solitary meditation.

Modern artists were inherently solitary figures in the sense that they were expected to deal singlehandedly with any type of praise and criticism of their works. This explains why avant-garde artists of the early 20th century formed groups, such as Futurism, Dada, and Surrealism, outlined the beliefs they shared with their comrades in manifestoes, and declared their solidarity. Paul Klee, however, never actively participated in a group or expressed his solidarity with other artists.

Does that indicate that Klee was a truly solitary artist? He also lived in the early part of the 20th century, but he raised a family with his wife Lily Stumpf, played music with friends at their house, traveled to Paris and Tunisia with fellow artists, and exchanged an inordinate number of letters with family, friends, artists, and art dealers. Moreover, Klee was influenced considerably by other artists as well as friends who worked as doctors, editors, among other professions, and were also from the Bern area.

In addition, not long after the First World War, Klee took an interest in the cultural policies of the Bavarian Soviet Republic, which emerged following a revolution in Bavaria. The republic was short-lived, but in 1921 Klee did become involved in the community of artists at the Bauhaus school who strove to realize ideal forms of art. Although there were endless debates on education and art between the highly individualistic artists at the school, Klee believed that this sort of tension was an essential part of Bauhaus.

In this exhibition, we shed light on Klee and his relationship with his contemporaries through their works and other materials from the period. And by focusing both on Klee's artistic milieu and the overall social environment, we reconsider the artist as part of a constellation made up of a great deal of people and information, and retrace the creative trajectory of his life.

Hours and Admission
January 18-March 16, 2025
10:00-18:00
Open until 20:00 on Fridays
(Last admission; 30 minutes before closing)
Closed on Mondays (except February 24), February 25

Adults: ¥1,800 (¥1,600)
University and High-school students: ¥1,200 (¥1,000)
Junior high school students and under: Free
＊ The price in brackets is for an advance ticket and a discount ticket for a group of 20 people and over.
＊ Including the admission fee for the Collection Galleries.
＊ We only accept cash at the ticket counter of the museum during this exhibition.

Exhibition
Organised by Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art; The Chunichi Shimbun; Tokai Television Broadcasting Co., Ltd.
With the sponsorship of Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.; AISIN COOPORATION
With support of Central Japan Railway Company
With the scientific cooperation of Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern
With the special cooperation of The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

The exhibition has been organised in cooperation with the Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern