Berlin’s modernist home for 20th-century art
The Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery), located in Berlin’s Kultuforum, is dedicated to 20th-century art by artists from Europe and North America. The museum is one of six locations that display the Nationalgalerie’s diverse collection, alongside the Alte Nationalgalerie, Friedrichswerdersche Kirche, Museum Berggruen, Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg and Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart.
The Neue Nationalgalerie’s modernist building, which opened in 1968, was the last major project completed by the famed architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. From 2015-21, it was closed for extensive refurbishment and modernization by David Chipperfield Architects. Among the Neue Nationalgalerie’s most famous works are “Potsdamer Platz” (1914) by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, “The Skat Players” (1920) by Otto Dix and “Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue IV” (1969–70) by Barnett Newman. A new museum currently being built next to the Neue Nationalgalerie called the Museum of the 20th Century is due to open in 2026, which will act as an extension to the current museum. Four abstract paintings by Gerhard Richter that form his “Birkenau” cycle, his creative response to the Holocaust, are on long-term loan — a potential gift pending the completion of the new space.
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