MUNICH.- The Written Art Collection is unique in its profile. For the first time, the Modern Art Collection (Sammlung Moderne Kunst) in the Pinakothek der Moderne is dedicating a major special exhibition focussing on its holdings of works of scriptural and text-based art. Around 60 artistic positions invite visitors to engage with a 1,200-square-meter exhibition parcours that reveals a panorama of written art and encourages reflection on the reciprocal relationship between text and image. The selection presents writing as both an artistic medium and material from the mid-20th century to the present day. ‘Sweeter than Honey. A Panorama of Written Art’ highlights a dynamic socio-political dialogue between artists from a pancultural, global perspective.
The exhibition title is inspired by the work ‘Knowledge Is Sweeter Than Honey (Arabic)’ (2012) from the Mashrabiya series by the Egyptian-German artist Susan Hefuna. Honey is a fluid, cross-cultural element and symbol of the sweetness of knowledge and wisdom. At the same time, the title also stands for the idea that bitter words can become “sweeter than honey” through art and poetry. It thus illustrates the poetic power of art to convey knowledge in a sensual way.
The phenomenon of writing in images is explored through handwriting, calligraphy and typography. Starting with Art Informel in the 1950s, through conceptual art since the 1960s, the more than 100 works exhibited reveal the continuous significance of written art across generations and cultures up to this day. Artists invent fantasy alphabets and abstract sign languages, write poems and calendar entries, quote from literature and political documents, and translate thoughts and conversations into sprayed, graphic, gestural or embroidered messages. The performativity of writing can be experienced in material and physical traces in painting and photography as well as in expansive, large-scale works.
‘Sweeter than Honey. A Panorama of Written Art’ is the most comprehensive presentation of works in the Written Art Collection held to date and, as such, marks the culmination of a long-term cooperation with the Modern Art Collection in the Pinakothek der Moderne.
With works by Etel Adnan, Nasrollah Afjei, Maliheh Afnan, Khaled Al-Saai, Mounira Al Solh, Siah Armajani, Younes Baba-Ali, Willi Baumeister, Alighiero Boetti, Peter Brüning, Sophie Calle, Chen Danqing, Claudia Comte, Thierry De Cordier, Mohammad Ehsaei, Golnaz Fathi, Jilali Gharbaoui, Karl Otto Götz, Adolph Gottlieb, Katharina Grosse, Gu Wenda, Shilpa Gupta, Andreas Gursky, Hans Hartung, Susan Hefuna, Hans Hofmann, Jenny Holzer, Rebecca Horn, Yūichi Inoue, Alfredo Jaar, On Kawara, Franz Kline, Glenn Ligon, Nja Mahdaoui, Mark Manders, Brice Marden, André Masson, Hassan Massoudy, Georges Mathieu, Henri Michaux, Joan Mitchell, Shiryū Morita, Farhad Moshiri, Adam Pendleton, Qiu Zhijie, Walid Raad, Ed Ruscha, Kazuo Shiraga, Pierre Soulages, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Mark Tobey, Lawrence Weiner, Fritz Winter.
A comprehensive bilingual publication in German and English will accompany the exhibition ‘Sweeter than Honey. A Panorama of Written Art’, published by Hatje Cantz (240 pages, 120 illustrations in colour; museum edition 34 EUR, bookshop edition 44 EUR, ISBN: 978-3-7757-6127-7).
Talks and performances will take place throughout the duration of the exhibition. A multifaceted programme of events will also be offered. As part of our regular collaboration with the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, we are delighted to announce another joint project for the exhibition. As part of the successful “Art Meets Art” series, the Gärtnerplatztheater, together with Canadian choreographer and artist Dorotea Saykaly, will be guests at the Pinakothek der Moderne on March 20, 2026, with a dance performance.
Curated by Madeleine Freund and Oliver Kase in cooperation with Thomas Kellein and Marie-Kathrin Krimphoff (Written Art Collection).
In memory of Thomas Kellein (1955–2025), who had been curator of the Written Art Collection since 2013.
