DESSAU-ROßLAU.- Under the title Delphinium Maximum, the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation is opening an extraordinary exhibition on Saturday, 17 May 2025, at 4 pm, that makes the delphinium the centre of an engagement with art and society. It sheds light on the historical and contemporary relationship between human beings and ornamental plants and thus initiates a fascinating dialogue between nature and art. The programme for the exhibition opening is supplemented by a bar serving edible flowers and leaves by the Urbane Farm Dessau. Admission is free.

In the open scenography of the Spatial Stage from 18 May to 7 September, cut delphinium flowers of local and international origin will encounter works by contemporary artists. Sarah Oos impresses with her opulent sculptures of balloon flowers, while Annette Kelm works in the genre of studio photography on objects laden with meaning. Luise Marchand’s series Muttererde (Top Soil) addresses the themes of the global market for flowers and the craft of floristry. The exhibition is supplemented by specially made vases by the potter Matthias Kaiser whose forms allude to Dutch tulip vases.

The historical point of departure for Delphinium Maximum is Edward Steichen’s legendary MoMA exhibition of 1936, in which he presented cut delphinium flowers that he had bred himself as unfinished works of art. He was calling for a re-evaluation of plant cultivation as an artistic practice. He was not just combining photography and breeding but also becoming a driving force for the progressive ideas of European Modernism in New York at the time. The exhibition spanned an arc from Steichen’s visionary plant breeding to Karl Foerster, an influential breeder of perennials in Potsdam who also succumbed to the magic of this blue flower.

Delphinium Maximum raises two questions about the role of nature in the tension between art and society and dares to attempt to relate the constantly changing blooming cycle of flowers with the conventional rules for operating a museum. It addresses the potential and challenges of the now frequent call for human and non-human life to grow closer to each other. Ephemeral presentation in an exhibition space depends on change. Over the course of the exhibition from May to September, the exhibition will pass through several changes of blossoming and fading – a visible symbol of natural circulation and transience, which contrast with the idea of preservation in a museum.

Visitors can listen to an audio contribution using the Bauhaus app and learn move from the accompany exhibition guide and its glossary. Additional information on the exhibition can be found at bauhaus-dessau.de.

The exhibition Delphinium Maximum is on view from 18 May to 7 September 2025 at the Bauhaus Museum Dessau.

Curated by Oliver Klimpel and Leoni Fischer