Ceramics as Art

The Berlin Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts) is showing a focused selection of works by the late ceramist Antje Brüggemann (1941–2023). Central to the exhibition are 14 ceramic objects given to the museum by the artist. The exhibition is augmented by selected ceramics from Gruppe 83.

Antje Brüggemann (b. 1941 in Bützow) studied ceramics with Jan Bontjes van Beek in Hamburg and Walter Popp in Kassel after completing a pottery apprenticeship. From 1970, she lived and worked in Wippershain near Bad Hersfeld. She was a founding member of Gruppe 83, consistently and inventively pursuing its goal of representing and promoting ceramics as an independent art form in Germany. In addition to her own works, she also created several designs for the Rosenthal company.

Antje Brüggemann’s ceramics have the character of objects and are not intended for daily use. The works on display trace her artistic development, ranging from turned vessels with splashed abstract ornamentation produced during the 1960s to her 1970s sculptural still lifes and constructed containers with geometric décor from a recent phase of her oeuvre. The porcelain stoneware objects often bear illusionistic glazing, simulating three-dimensionality and creating a sophisticated dialogue between the physical form and its geometric décor.

The ceramics by Antje Brüggemann and other members of Gruppe 83 on display are singular works from the Kunstgewerbemuseum’s collection, many of which have not been shown for quite some time. The special presentation is being shown in the lower lobby at the Kunstmuseum.

Accompanying Events

Guided tours led by curators accompany the exhibition.

Curator

The exhibition is curated by Dr Claudia Kanowski, curator at the Kunstgewerbemuseum.

A special exhibition of the Kunstgewerbemuseum – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin