“Art and museums play an important role“

 

In Berlin, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art will be presenting its collection, on a truly unprecedented scale. An interview with Suzanne Landau, Director and Chief Curator of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.

 

From 27 March until 21 June, some 70 masterpieces from the Tel Aviv Museum of Art will be on show at the Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum in Berlin. What was the curatorial concept behind the choice of works?

The works in the exhibition represent the essence of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, which is Modern and contemporary art. Offering a broad view of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art’s collection, the exhibition also unfolds the history of the museum and its historical ties with Berlin – from its beginnings in 1932 and its first Director, Dr. Karl Schwarz, who moved to Tel Aviv from Berlin in 1933. It chronicles the collection, from the first works that entered the collection, through to its recent acquisitions, featuring 72 pieces selected from three departments: Israeli Art, Prints and Drawings, and Modern Art.

The exhibition endeavors to juxtapose these collections in unexpected ways, assembling them to spark new and intriguing relationships. The underlying concept is a dialogue between Modern art and contemporary Israeli art, addressing personal, social and political issues. Works by early 20th-century Modern artists are thus interspersed with those of contemporary Israeli artists, forging surprising visual and medium links, and suggesting new readings of the works.

72 – that’s a large number of artworks to leave a museum. How many pieces does the museum usually ship to exhibitions abroad?

This is the first time that the Tel Aviv Museum of Art has shown an exhibition of this size abroad. In the past we have loaned two to three works to museums for exhibitions, but never have we shown an exhibition of this scale.

Among the works on show at Martin-Gropius-Bau, are there any pieces that founding director Karl Schwarz himself acquired?

Yes. Of the 72 works on show 19 of them came to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art during Karl Schwarz’s tenure. They include an impressive work by Maurycy Gottlieb, Jew Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur (1878) – then a long-lost masterpiece that Schwarz himself discovered in 1938 in a private collection in Amsterdam, and persuaded the owner to send to Tel Aviv. It was later gifted to the museum. During his tenure, additional works were acquired from The Erich Goeritz Collection in Berlin (e. g. Archipenko, Degas), The Maurice Lewin Collection (e. g. Ensor, Signac), and The Oscar Fischer Collection (e. g. Chagall).

Is the exhibition designed in any way to reflect on the German-Israeli relationship?

There are two connections: Firstly, the beginning of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art is closely bound up with Berlin, as Karl Schwarz was from Berlin. Secondly, this is not the first time the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and the Martin-Gropius-Bau have collaborated.

An earlier collaboration was the major retrospective of Israeli artist Dani Karavan, which was shown both in Tel Aviv and Berlin.

We are pleased to once again collaborate with this wonderful institution and we hope to continue working together in the future.

What role, in your opinion, does art play in the dialogue between two countries and their people? What role does it play in the relationship between Germans and Israelis?

Art and museums play an important role in the way a country is perceived abroad. I believe that through art and culture we can paint a different image of our country.

What hopes do you have for this particular exhibition?

We are so proud and pleased to have this wonderful opportunity to show the Tel Aviv Museum of Art Collection at the Martin-Gropius-Bau, and we very much hope that this exhibition will be well received by the visitors in Berlin. This exhibition gives excellent exposure to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and it strengthens our mission of cooperating with leading museums abroad.