The exhibition Rauschen: Echoes of an Institution examines the work of the Centre for Art Exhibitions of the GDR (Zentrum für Kunstausstellungen der DDR – ZfK) and sheds light on its complex role at the intersection of state cultural policy and international cultural exchange. Commissioned by the Ministry of Culture, the ZfK organised exhibitions both at domestically and abroad from its founding in 1973 until its dissolution in 1990, becoming a key player in promoting art and culture in the GDR. With its closure on 31 December 1990, the ZfK’s graphic collection of around 10,000 works was transferred to the ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen.
In the exhibition, “Rauschen” (noise or static) stands for the faint background sounds that become audible behind an institution’s official narratives. For media theorist Friedrich Kittler, it denotes the moment in which a medium itself becomes visible – no longer merely as a transparent carrier of messages, but as a structure. The diverse voices found in archival materials, eyewitness accounts and artistic positions coalesce into a multi-layered picture that reflects the work of the ZfK. Through a chronological narrative, the exhibition reconstructs selected aspects of a chapter of international art history that has so far received little attention.
Alongside works from the collections of the ZfK and the ifa, contemporary artistic positions open up new approaches to the history of the ZfK. Nadja Abt and Katharina Marszewski focus on Robert Rauschenberg’s ROCI exhibition, combining historical documents with their own artistic perspective. In her new production Vagant Orient, Anna Bromley explores the intertwining cultural and trade relations between the GDR and Arab states. Whilst Suse Weber focuses on the work of Werner Schinko and his widely circulated illustrations for school and children’s books in the GDR, David Polzin’s posters explore social possibilities after 1990.
With works by Nadja Abt, Gerhard Altenbourg, Alfred Beier-Red, Henryk Berg, Anna Bromley, Hermann Glöckner, Gotthard Graubner, HAP Grieshaber, Heidrun Hegewald, Irmgard Horlbeck-Kappler, Katharina Mercedes Marszewski, Karl Erich Müller, Uwe Pfeifer, Sigmar Polke, David Polzin, Nuria Quevedo, Robert Rauschenberg, Hans Theo Richter, Werner Schinko, Emil Stumpp, Günther Uecker, Suse Weber, Karla Woisnitza
Curated by Susanne Weiß in collaboration with Nadja Abt, Swantje Greve, and Petronela Soltesz; Scenography: Eran Schaerf in collaboration with Flo Gaertner.
The exhibition at the ifa Gallery Berlin marks the launch of the ifa exhibition series Making Public – On the Work and Legacy of the Centre for Art Exhibitions of the GDR in Berlin. The project is organised in cooperation with the Wüstenrot Foundation and is supported by the Hauptstadtkulturfonds. In collaboration with Schloss Biesdorf, KVOST – Kunstverein Ost, Prater Galerie and Galerie im Turm, as well as the Kunsthaus Dresden.
Opening: Thursday, 25 June, 19:00
Exhibition: 26 June – 27 September 2026
More information on Making Public at agora.ifa.de
The ifa has been researching the ZfK’s work and history in cooperation with the Wüstenrot Stiftung since 2023. In early 2024, artistic director Susanne Weiß initiated a working group to examine the ZfK’s trajectory and legacy that consisted of artists Anna Bromley, David Polzin and Suse Weber, curators Thibaut de Ruyter and Sandra Teitge as well as filmmaker Sylvie Kürsten. Making Public builds on their ongoing research at the German Federal Archives and the Akademie der Künste as well as their conversations with historic witnesses.
