The Bremen Art Museum

October 18 -- Kunsthalle Bremen, as we say here in our Germany.   It's in the city, the Art Museum, but since we are not in the city on a regular basis, we don't visit the Kunsthalle as often as we'd like.  Nevertheless it was time, the weather cooperated (not a good day for walking or biking) and we were in the mood.  All the stars were in alignment.

We were greeted by this mural by Sarah Morris just beyond the entrance hall.  Colorful, monumental - striking!  When the exhibit is over, the art will be a memory - preserved digitally, for sure, but in fact gone forever.

Another current exhibition is an installation by Thomas Hirschhorn, a Swiss artist whose work is often beyond my ken, but somehow I could talk to this one.

The installation is titled "Aftermath" (Nachwirkung).

Like many of his works, cardboard and packing tape are integral to the installation - temporary and original - and the theme is ruin and destruction. That you could discern without my interpretation. It looks like a bomb went off in the place.

The graffiti messages are not at all hard to grasp:

"Art is a beautiful lie" he says.  Others said: "Art is truth" and "Don't make excuses for art."
So we wandered there for a while and took it in.  Even though it was only three rooms, there was a lot to digest.
And then, since we had time, we decided to check out the permanent exhibit, something we'd not done in quite a while.
In fact, we haven't visited the permanent collection since the Kunsthalle was expanded and reopened in 2011 (how embarrassing!) though we have been there for other special exhibits.
The refurbished rooms are light and spacious.

 The former exterior wall was incorporated into the new interior space.  Cool

 Nice, huh?  This is nails, lots of them, hammered in such a way that the shadows and emphases change depending on the angle. 

And here, as in several rooms, they've added the really new (digital) art to the conventional and traditional.  It didn't jar - but was a fascinating contrast.

Afterwards, there was time for coffee and cake.  There is always time for that.