The guest exhibition “and now” traces the work of a selected group of female artists from the GDR – among which some have been discussed only sparsely in the overall German art historical field. The exhibition shows work from the 1980s made under “socialistic conditions of production” and as well as artistic developments and positions in the new social system of the 1990s. Furthermore, the show highlights the artists’ statements and expressions in the 2000s.

At the times of state socialism in the GDR, performance art was hardly visible. Until the late 1980s, efforts to show this new type of art publicly were disrupted, and partly criminalized and suppressed by the officials. Improvisation was a necessity in the GDR and thus became an important factor in the art practice that was not supported by the state. Whereas aspects of male performance art in the GDR have been discussed in art history, the question, what role female artists like Gabriele Stötzer, Cornelia Schleime, Christine Schlegel or Erika Stürmer-Alex played, has still not been researched sufficiently. In what ways did these artists influence the development of process-oriented art forms and artistical border crossing?

Participating artists: Tina Bara, Annemirl Bauer, Else Gabriel, Angela Hampel, Verena Kyselka, Christine Schlegel, Cornelia Schleime, Gundula Schulze Eldowy, Gabriele Stötzer, Erika Stürmer-Alex, Ramona Welsh, Karla Woisnitza.

Curated by Angelika Richter & Beatrice E. Stammer.
Co-curated by Bettina Knaup.