Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg invites us to an experience beyond the ordinary. The STRANGE! exhibition upends expectations of surrealism, liberating this art movement from constraints of space, time, and direction. Featuring 60 works by 40 artists, displayed in a “tomb chamber” atmosphere entered through an ancient Egyptian gate, the exhibition emerges from the tense, divided spirit of a fragmented Germany.
Contrary to the common view that ties surrealism to dreamlike logic and hyper-realist techniques, the exhibition argues that surrealism is not an “artistic style but a state of mind.” As such, you’ll encounter works spanning realism, cubism, impressionism, and expressionism. These range from Hans Platschek’s stern “Manager” portrait from West Germany to the melancholic detachment in female portraits by East German artists.
Though loosely organized by themes, the exhibition encourages active reflection. Works by West German artists carry critiques of the system, while the second section, featuring dreamlike imagery by key German surrealists like Mac Zimmermann, aligns more closely with the expected visual language. Yet, by including artists like Albert Ebert, who explore religious themes in a surrealist context, the exhibition prompts questions about how surrealism gains meaning through geographic and cultural lenses.
Ultimately, STRANGE! opens a door to what surrealist art can be. Sometimes, the strangeness lies not in the artwork itself but in the world it emerges from and our ways of perceiving that world.
Exhibition Details:
Venue: Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg, Schloßstraße 70, 14059 Berlin
Dates: On view until November 16, 2025
Admission: The exhibited works, drawn from the National Gallery’s collections, explore surrealism from 1950–1990.
