“No More Masterpieces”

Sturtevant „Beuys La rivoluzione siamo noi“, 1988/1992

“No More Masterpieces” (a battle cry from the well-known Surrealist Antonin Artaud) dedicates itself to the action-oriented side of Surrealism and its impact that is still felt today. The exhibition addresses the notion of destruction (in collages by Hannah Höch and Kurt Schwitters, Otto Dix’s Skatspieler and again more recently in Gerhard Richter’s patched-up Party guests), the question of power (Schlichter’s Blinde Macht versus Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tod des Patriarchen), the solitary figure (Germaine Richier, Alberto Giacometti) and finally the call for rebellion Georg Baselitz and Eugen Schönebeck put forth in their Pandämonisches Manifest pamphlet, with its direct reference to Surrealism. The actions of the Situationists and the student revolts in Paris and elsewhere in France conclude the show. “La rivoluzione siamo noi” (“We are the Revolution”, Joseph Beuys) declared people’s thoughts and actions as art – in the spirit of Surrealism, which never wanted to be an art style, but rather a mindset or a way of life.

A special exhibition of the Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Runtime: Fri, 12/12/2025 to Sun, 26/04/2026

Takes place here:

• Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg