Art of the German Democratic Republic – an Inconvenient Legacy?

The book Art of the German Democratic Republic – an Inconvenient Legacy? is the first ever publication in the Czech language dealing with the visual arts of the former German Democratic Republic. Although the existence of this state lasted only four decades, its artistic heritage entered a completely new phase after the reunification of Germany. The editor Matěj Forejt (born 1993) did not just curated an overview of a closed chapter of history, but has instead focused on themes and stories that transcend geographical and temporal boundaries. He presents them through twelve texts by a total of fourteen authors. Why did a long-standing dispute over the work of artists from the former GDR erupt after German reunification in 1990? Who was interested in art from East Germany in the 1970s and 1980s in the West and who saw it as a problem? What was happening in the underground gallery scene in East Germany? How did the painter Gerhard Richter’s studies in the GDR influence him? Where can the legacy of socialist realism be found in contemporary German painting? The answers to these and other questions not only provide insight into post-war (East) German culture, but can also serve as inspiration when thinking about art from other former Eastern Bloc countries.

The book contains texts by Joachim Fischer, Monika Flacke, Matěj Forejt, Dana Giesecke, Eckhart Gillen, Wolfgang Holler, Anke Jenckel, Paul Kaiser, Boris Pofalla, Karl-Siegbert Rehberg, Kathleen Rosenthal, Holger Saupe, Joes Segal, Herbert Schirme.

The book is a product of the Curatorial Reasearch Trip project, which was organised by Galerie Rudolfinum in 2017 – 2018.

The book is published with the support of the Czech-German Future Fund.

We would like to thank the Goethe-Institut Prague for their cooperation.