Opzorro Art Collection & GalleryDOCUMENTA KASSEL
About Documenta Kassel:
Documenta (often stylized documenta) is an exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany.
Documenta was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau (Federal Horticultural Show) which took place in Kassel at that time. It was an attempt to bring Germany up to speed with modern art, both banishing and repressing the cultural darkness of Nazism. This first Documenta featured many artists who are generally considered to have had a significant influence on modern art (such as Picasso and Kandinsky). The more recent editions of the event feature artists based across the world, but much of the art is site-specific.
Every Documenta is limited to 100 days of exhibition, which is why it is often referred to as the "museum of 100 days". Documenta is not a selling exhibition.
History of Documenta Kassel:
Art professor and designer Arnold Bode from Kassel was the initiator of the first Documenta. Originally planned as a secondary event to accompany the Bundesgartenschau, this attracted more than 130,000 visitors in 1955. The exhibition centred less on "contemporary art"—that is, art made after 1945—instead, Bode wanted to show the public works which had been known as "Entartete Kunst" in Germany during the Nazi era: Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Blauer Reiter, Futurism and Pittura Metafisica. Therefore, abstract art, in particular the abstract paintings of the 1920s and 1930s, was the focus of interest in this exhibition.
Over time, the focus shifted to contemporary art. At first, the show was limited to works from Europe, but soon covered works by artists from the Americas, Africa and Asia. 4. documenta, the first ever to turn a profit, featured a selection of pop art, minimal art and kinetic art. Adopting the theme of Questioning Reality – Pictorial Worlds Today, the 1972 Documenta radically redefined what could be considered art by featuring minimal and conceptual art, marking a turning point in the public acceptance of those styles. Also, it devoted a large section to the work of Adolf Wolfli, the great Swiss outsider, then unknown. Joseph Beuys performed repeatedly under the auspices of his utopian Organization for Direct Democracy.[8] Additionally, the 1987 Documenta show signaled another important shift with the elevation of design to the realm of art – showing an openness to postmodern design.[9] Certain key political dates for wide-reaching social and cultural upheavals, such as 1945, 1968 or 1976/1977, became chronological markers of documenta X (1997), along which art's political, social, cultural and aesthetic exploratory functions were traced. Documenta11 was organized around themes like migration, urbanization and the post-colonial experience, with documentary photography, film and video as well as works from far-flung locales holding the spotlight. In 2012, documenta was described as "ardently feminist, global and multimedia in approach and including works by dead artists and selected bits of ancient art".
Documenta Kassel artist's artwork owned by the Opzorro Artcollection:
(sorted by the artist name)
Gerhard Wendland
(German artist, born 1910)
Gerhard Wendland participated at Documenta II in 1959.
II. documenta was the second edition of documenta, a quinquennial contemporary art exhibition. It was held between 11 July and 1 October 1959 in Kassel, West Germany. The artistic director was Arnold Bode in collaboration with art historian Werner Haftmann.
No. of exhibitors: 338
No. of exhibits: 1770
No. of visitors: 134,000
Gerhard Richter
(German artist, born 1932 in Dresden)
Gerhard Richter is an artist who actually owns the Documenta.
He participated eight times (!) at the Documenta:
- Documenta V (1972)
- Documenta VI (1977)
- Documenta VII (1982)
- Documenta VIII (1987)
- Documenta IX (1992)
- Documenta X (1997)
- Documenta XII (2007)
- Documenta XIV (2017)