Extension to the MKM Museum Küppersmühle for Modern Art

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Mark added company Evonik Industries AG
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Mark added company GEBAG Duisburger Gemeinnützige Baugesellschaft AG
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Mark added company Herzog & de Meuron
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The Basel-based architects Herzog & de Meuron have been commissioned to design the extension to the MKM Museum Küppersmühle for Modern Art. Altogether 22 new rooms, providing a total 2000m² of exhibition space, are planned. Completion of the project is envisaged for winter 2011. The funding of the project has been made possible by a consortium of private sponsors: the company Evonik Industries, the art collector couple Sylvia and Ulrich Ströher and the Stiftung für Kunst und Kultur e.V. Bonn. The construction company is the Duisburger Gemeinnützige Baugesellschaft AG GEBAG.

At the press conference held on 20 November 2008 in Duisburg, attended by all the parties involved, the project was introduced and details of the cooperation were outlined.

The Prime Minister of North-Rhine Westphalia Dr. Jürgen Rüttgers stressed: “With the construction of this extension, the Duisburg Inner Harbour is evolving into one of the State’s leading centres for visually striking architecture. On view here will be one of the most comprehensive collections of German painting, dating from the post-war period to the present. This represents an important milestone on the path to becoming the European Capital of Culture 2010. The Duisburg Inner Harbour now has the opportunity of serving as a symbol of lasting change.”

Dr. Werner Müller, former CEO of the Evonik Industries AG, explained: “Art is a mirror of our times. It should be accessible to everyone. And it should not – as has too often been the case in the past – remain concealed in the vaults of the Museum Küppersmühle. In order to ensure that the public is afforded the opportunity of viewing the works in possession of the MKM, and looking ahead to 2010 and the European Capital City of Culture, Evonik is supporting the building of the museum’s extension. Now Duisburg can welcome all those keen to experience contemporary German art by all our great names.”

Having already converted the former mill into the Museum for Modern Art in the 1990s, Herzog & de Meuron have staged their latest encounter with the MKM’s historical brick architecture by designing a contrary structure. The extension boasts the plain, reduced form of a cuboid, highlighting the stark contrast between mass and lightness. From a height of 36 metres, the monumental edifice appears to almost to “float” above the ground. A second, exterior facade envelops the interior structure in the form of a transparent skin, whose windows intentionally afford interior and exterior views. This building will continue to wield an enduring impact upon Duisburg’s cityscape as a highly visible landmark.

The construction of the extension now enables the MKM’s comprehensive assembly of post-war German art to be shown in an appropriate setting and in its broader context, such as the Ströher Collection, of which only parts can be shown at present. In future over twice the number of paintings (to date: approximately 100-120 works across 15 rooms) will be on view. Visitors will be able to embark on tour through 60 years of art history of the Federal Republic of Germany. The new extension in Duisburg now furthers the objective of establishing a Centre for German Art After 1945. “With the extension of the Museum Küppersmühle and the outstanding commitment of the art collector couple, the Ströhers”, enthused Duisburg’s Head of Cultural Affairs Karl Janssen, “our city is developing into one of the most significant centres for contemporary German painting. Personally I am delighted that this project, for which I have been the driving force on behalf of the city, is now entering the realisation phase. Evonik’s commitment is a stroke of fortune for Duisburg.”

Numbering some 1500 works, the Ströher Collection features central, internationally-renowned positions within the development of German art, dating from the immediate post-war period to the present day. Numerous artists in the collection enjoy not only national, but international acclaim; they include: Josef Albers, Stephan Balkenhol, Georg Baselitz, Willi Baumeister, Joseph Beuys, Peter Brüning, Karl Fred Dahmen, Hanne Darboven, Günther Förg, K.O. Götz, Gotthard Graubner, Candida Höfer, Gerhard Hoehme, Rebecca Horn, Jörg Immendorff, Anselm Kiefer, Imi Knoebel, Norbert Kricke, Markus Lüpertz, Blinky Palermo, A.R. Penck, Otto Piene, Sigmar Polke, Gerhard Richter, Bernard Schultze, Emil Schumacher, Fred Thieler, Hann Trier, Rosemarie Trockel or Wols. The newly-acquired exhibition space will enable a direct confrontation between artists of the elder and younger generations and their works. Examples of such a fruitful dialogue, which heralds a new and re-interpretation of art, include Hann Trier and Georg Baselitz, K.O. Götz and Gerhard Richter or K.F. Dahmen and Günther Förg.

A further special feature of the collection, now facilitated by the MKM’s acquisition of new exhibition space is as Director Walter Smerling explains: “The exceptional opportunities for comparing individual artistic production: The collection boasts different works from the various creative periods of numerous artists which afford fascinating insights into their artistic development over a long period. For the first time, the extension grants us the opportunity of presenting a comprehensive and detailed representation of the artistic output and career of these artists - Baselitz, Götz, Kiefer, Lüpertz, Richter, to name but a few”.


2 years ago