COLOGNE, GERMANY.-Parallel to the German Protestant Kirchentag in Cologne (6-10 June), Museum Ludwig will be presenting the first-ever solo exhibition of Sister Mary Corita Kent (1918–1986) in this country. The Catholic nun, who lived in the Order of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Los Angeles, took an active political stance on social inequality and the Vietnam War. She adopted the technique of silkscreening and made banners for demonstrations and posters. Her images and texts, her abstract patterns and vivid colours all added up to produce striking compositions that took society to task - often with an unmistakable streak of humour.

For Sister Corita, there was no big difference between religion and politics, or high art and applied art. The enthusiasm with which she shouldered and demanded political responsibility under the flag of the Catholic Church led to her activities being condemned by the conservative Archdiocese of California. This encouraged her decision to leave the order in 1968.

At the same time, contemporary artists and critics such as Ray and Charles Eames or Buckminster Fuller were great admirers of her innovatory silkscreens, which anticipated the techniques of Pop Art and show parallels to the work of Andy Warhol. Apart from which, she organised discussions series, festivals and “happenings” that married aesthetics with socio-political issues. Present-day artists such as Ed Ruscha and Mike Kelley continue to reveal the breadth of influence exerted by her view of art.

With its selection of some 40 silkscreen prints and book publications from the 1960s, this exhibition at Museum Ludwig provides an insightful overview of Sister Corita’s work. The exhibition is curated by Julie Ault of New York – an artist, free curator, and from 1979 to 1996 member of Group Material - together with Nina Gülicher from Museum Ludwig Cologne. It has been realized in cooperation with the Evangelical church in the Rhineland.