Bakunin's barricade for the first time in Dresden since 1849

The newly founded Kunstverein Dresden makes its debut and invites you to the first exhibition opening in the room at Goldenen Reiter, Neustädter Markt. With Ahmet Ögüt (*1981 in Silvan, Diyarbakır/Turkey), a sought-after, internationally operating artist has been won. His work "Bakunin's Barricade" has already been realized in the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, in the Museum Ludwig Cologne and recently in the Charlottenborg Kunsthalle Copenhagen.

And yet it is only in Dresden that it comes into its own. The barricade made of wrecked cars, tires, barriers and building materials not only refers to escalated demonstrations, but also goes directly back to a Dresden legend: In literature, Mikhail Bakunin (1814-1876) is often referred to as an anarchist. Friedrich Engels already praised the radical professional revolutionary as "a capable, cold-blooded leader." The much-rumored anecdote about how bloodshed should be avoided comes from Bakunin's time in Dresden. During the May Uprising in 1849, Bakunin suggested that masterpieces from the Dresden Picture Gallery be attached to a barricade. The Prussian troops were certainly far too sophisticated to shoot at it. There is no written evidence of this, but the idea alone still fascinates as a model of thought today.

Ahmet Ögüt takes Bakunin at his word and equips the barricade with valuable works of art - previously from the respective museum collection. In Eindhoven, a view of Dresden's Elbe by Oskar Kokoschka even adorned the anarchist barrier. In Dresden in 2018, the installation represents the cultural commitment of the newly founded Dresden Art Association, as all works come from the personal collections of its members.

 

Curator:

Susanne Altmann

 

Exhibition duration:

October 20, 2018 until January 20, 2019

Opening: October 20, 2018 | 8 p.m.

>>>