Chris Reinecke is one of the founders of the LIDL art cooperative, which radically shook the concept of art in post-war West Germany. For Reinecke, art was not an aesthetic confined to museum walls but a political laboratory where participants realized the potential of their own actions.
In the early 1970s, with projects like “Mietersolidarität” (Tenants’ Solidarity), Reinecke took to the streets against high rents, housing shortages, and speculation, completely erasing the thin line between art and activism. The early works we see in the exhibition today lay bare how the body is transformed into socio-economic capital and how societal conditions can be changed.
The Observer’s Window: The World on Paper
Over time, when Reinecke felt that the “participatory art” she had staged in the hope of triggering democratic processes had failed, she redefined her own position. This was not a rupture but a story of “turning into an observer.”
Setting aside the traditional canvas and easel, the artist chose paper as a “truly open and shapeable” medium. On paper, she began creating subjective “snapshots” of the flow of history by combining newspaper clippings, ink strokes, and watercolor touches.
The 90s and the Berlin Wall: Her works on the collapse of communism and German reunification freeze the confusing speed of that era with newspaper cutouts.
Prophetic Works: One of the most recent pieces in the exhibition, “Gewölbe für Alle. Unter der Kuppel” (2016/17), is inspired by Donald Trump’s first inauguration ceremony. This work, depicting the U.S. Capitol Building in a chaotic manner with ink brush, appears in hindsight like a foretold sign of the changes that would shake the world.
A Memory Route in Düsseldorf
If you’re in Düsseldorf these days, I recommend visiting Reinecke’s exhibition in parallel with the “Grund und Boden. How We Live Together” show at K21 Museum. This showroom selection at Beck & Eggeling serves as a more intimate and technically focused complement to the institutional exhibition at K21.
Artist: Chris Reinecke
Exhibition Title: Region Nach Oben Geöffnet
Venue: Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art, Düsseldorf
Dates: Until January 24, 2026
