Even before you see its knockout collection of 20th-century art, the Neue Nationalgalerie inspires awe.
Designed by modernist legend Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ("Mies"), this glass-and-steel temple floats atop a granite podium like some postmodern acropolis. Seemingly defying gravity, the massive steel roof "floats" above a curtain of glass walls without the need of load-bearing walls.
Mies & Masterpieces
Stepping inside this architectural icon, you enter an open-plan hall that typically hosts high-caliber temporary exhibitions. Recent headliners have included contemporary heavyweights like Nan Goldin, Yoko Ono and Mona Bonvicini.
Head down into the windowless basement and the mood becomes more introspective. A focal point is the main exhibition, drawn from the museum’s permanent collection. The current show, titled "Extreme Tension," explores how artists worldwide responded to political and societal upheaval after WWII. It’s a compelling mix of movements – from art informel and pop art to minimalism and conceptual art – featuring big names like Gerhard Richter, Louise Nevelson, Rebecca Horn and Francis Bacon.
The basement also houses galleries presenting 100 works by Gerhard Richter, widely regarded as Germany’s most acclaimed living painter. A standout is the Birkenau cycle: four large-scale abstract paintings inspired by harrowing photographs taken by prisoners at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. Other key works like Besetztes Haus and 4900 Farben illustrate Richter’s extraordinary artistic range. Eventually, all will move into the Museum der Moderne, under construction next door.
