An icon of twentieth-century architecture The Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin was planned and built from 1963 to 1968, the steel and glass structure is the only building designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in Europe after his emigration to the United States. The refurbishment, headed by David Chipperfield Architects, has successfully restored and renewed the building to its original identity of high modernist architecture.
Kellndorfer was invited by the head of the museum Joachim Jägerto, to photograph Mies van der Rohe’s Neue Nationalgalerie after it was closed to the public for renovations in 2015 creating multiple works as a result. She picked two moments in the fall and early spring when it was completely empty and renovation had just barely started––a unique point in time in the building’s history which Veronika was fortunate to document. "The resulting images are already imbued with a historical dimension, as they show the Neue Nationalgalerie in a kind of archaeological interim that will never be seen again," states Kellndorfer.
Invited to participate in an artistic project inspired by the Neue Nationalgalerie, Kellndorfer is presenting National Gallery, Shortly Before Renovation, 2017, and National Gallery, Shifted Corner, 2018. In her photographs of Mies van der Rohe’s Neue Nationalgalerie, Kellndorfer reveals the divergence between our idea of the building and its actuality. Kellndorfer offers us new ways to understand and reconstruct the history documented in this body of work. Her photograph of the empty gallery during the process of restoration focuses on its raw materiality; the original steel, glass, and stone coexist with the new materials staged for installation along with the dust and dirt of the construction site.
The National Gallery series was created in 2017 for the Chicago Architecture Biennale and was shown in 2018 in the city’s Elmhurst Art Museum curated by Berry Bergdoll, before the work Shortly before Renovation, 2017 became part of the Art Institute Collection.
Using her distinct technique of binding silk-screened photographic images onto large glass panels, Kellndorfer bridges the gap between photography, architecture, painting, and installation. Kellndorfer’s work examines the graphic quality of architecture and its relationship with the landscape, as well as the transformation of light and movement between interior and exterior space.
Her use of scale succeeds in engaging the viewer by altering perception and spatial relationships, dramatically enlarging the underlying motif. Reflections place the viewer within the images—glare and the spatial ambiguity created by cast shadows reveal a depth and complexity to the work.
Installation view, Veronika Kellndorfer, Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin. Courtesy of the artist.
Veronika Kellndorfer has held solo exhibitions in museums and institutions around the world, including Casa de Vidro, Instituto Lina Bo Bardi, São Paulo, Brazil (2015); Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany (2012 and 2014); Aedes Land, Berlin, Germany (2010); Berlinische Galerie, Berlin (2005); Il parco, Villa Massimo, Rome (2005); and University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (2003). She has been included in group exhibitions such as Original Bauhaus, Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Germany (2019); 14th Curitiba International Biennial Of Contemporary Art, Museu Oscar Niemeyer, Curitiba, Brazil (2019); Fiction and Fabrication, Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, Lisbon, Portugal (2019); National Museum, Oslo, Norway (2017); the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego, CA (2016); Cidade Matarazzo, São Paulo, Brazil (2014); Pier 24 Photography, San Francisco, CA (2013 and 2016); Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA (2012); Villa Aurora Forum, Berlin, Germany (2010), and Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin (2008). Kellndorfer's work is included in the permanent collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA; Pilara Foundation, Pier 24 Photography, San Francisco, CA; National Gallery, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin; and Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego, CA, among others.
Veronika Kellndorfer
Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin
Pre-opening: June 4 - June 6, 2021
Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin
Pre-opening: June 4 - June 6, 2021
More information about the artist.
Photo: Installation view, Veronika Kellndorfer, Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin. Courtesy of the artist.
Photo: Installation view, Veronika Kellndorfer, Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin. Courtesy of the artist.
