Hinter dem Horizont ... / Beyond the Horizon ...: Kunst der DDR aus den Sammlungen des Staatlichen Museums Schwerin / Art of the GDR in the Collections of the Staatliches Museum Schwerin in Bloomington, MN

The catalog to the exhibition "Beyond the Horizon " shows a selection of GDR artworks from the Schwerin State Museum's collections, covering a wide range of artistic positions. The paintings, sculptures, drawings and graphics presented here open up new perspectives focus on the gentle, yet critical voices and thus point beyond the style of art decreed by the East German state. Even traditional genres such as portrait, landscape and still life, in their refusal to bow to ideological objectives, here offer an unexpected view of GDR reality. Its emphasis is on the artistic quality and the specificity of the Schwerin collection. Dreams, desires and projections are what come to the fore in these pictures and sculptures which make the horizon tangible, not as a rigid limit but as a space of free imagination and association. The tension between intimacy and world-view gave rise to a specific artistic language that went beyond the stereotypes of Socialist Realism and also found expression in actions and performances. A selection of exhibits from the Schwerin Mail Art archive shows that the Mail artist network then in existence facilitated a kind of a cross-border communication. Items on loan from artists such as Michael Morgner and Holger Stark give insight into Action and Performance Art with some reference to Mecklenburg. The richly-illustrated catalog will be published in German and English. Well-researched essays by historians and art historians demonstrate the importance and uniqueness of the Schwerin collection.