Brücke-Museum

Kunst Hand Werk Brücke

The Applied Arts of the Brücke Artists

A detail from a photograph of a wooden chair with an intricately carved backrest. Several figurative designs are carved into the wood, including human figures arranged in a group. The sculptures are sculpted in relief from the solid wood.

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Stuhl II, 1920, Arvenholz mit Ochsenblut gefärbt

© Brücke-Museum

The applied arts of the Brücke have been little studied and exhibited to this date. This is all the more surprising given that Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Emil Nolde spent their lives designing furniture, jewelry and carpets in addition to their paintings and prints. It is precisely these ‘applied arts’ that reflect the innovative creative impulsive and the conscious break with the aesthetic conventions that are characteristic of the Expressionist artists.

The exhibition Kunst Hand Werk Brücke examines the manufacturing processes and contexts of creation, thus enabling completely new perspectives on the work of the artist community. It approaches the subject matter in an innovative way through the materials used (wood, metal and textiles) and works closely with practitioners to convey the special techniques.

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