HAMBURG.- For the first time, the art of Maria Lassnig (1919–2014) and Edvard Munch (1863–1944) is being shown together in a major double exhibition. While more than half a century separates the Austrian and the Norwegian artist, on closer inspection there are nevertheless astonishing parallels between their imagery and biographies. A thematic juxtaposition—a dialogue in pictures—now allows their work to be read in a new light.

Lassnig and Munch share a unique handling of colour as a compositional device and a forceful means of expressing inner feelings: passing physical sensations and persistent emotional states such as grief, love, loneliness, fear, joy, and pain. Both artists were keenly attuned to investigating otherwise unnoticed forms of sensory perception and translating them into their own artistic vocabulary, giving rise to pictorial inventions that were singular and completely new.

For both Lassnig and Munch, painting was more than just an artistic technique. It was a way of probing the self and of questioning the world. Their works show inner and outer states that carry an immediate emotional charge. The subtitle of the exhibition, Flow of Paint = Flow of Life, comes from a painting by Maria Lassnig. It illustrates the inseparable connection between art and life.

The Hamburger Kunsthalle was the first museum in Germany to acquire a painting by Lassnig and has a rich collection of paintings and prints by Munch. This makes the Kunsthalle the ideal venue for this extensive exhibition featuring some 200 works of art. The selection includes several major works and rarely seen paintings, works on paper, photographs, films, and sculptures. The many loans from museums and private collections within Germany and abroad – most notably from the magisterial holdings of the Munchmuseet in Oslo and the Maria Lassnig Foundation in Vienna – make the exhibition a rare chance for viewers to see such stellar works at one and the same time.

Curated by Brigitte Kölle (Hamburger Kunsthalle) and Hans Dieter Huber (guest curator)

An exhibition by the Hamburger Kunsthalle and the Kunsthaus Zürich.