DRESDEN.- In its present location at Schloss Pillnitz, the Kunstgewerbemuseum of the Dresden State Art Collections is only able to show its exhibits in the summer season. However, its director, Tulga Beyerle, managed to organise no less than three special exhibitions there in her first year, and visitor numbers rose significantly as a result. Now she is taking a further important step into the future: for the first time in five years this winter, the Kunstgewerbemuseum is exhibiting to visitors over a lengthy period in the town centre in a prominent position in the Kunsthalle of the Lipsiusbau. The exhibition on the Brühlschen Terrasse, which is wide-ranging and goes far beyond the ostentation of the baroque, will stay open until June 21 and will therefore still be open when the doors of Pillnitz open again at the beginning of May.

The Lipsiusbau exhibition offers us a fascinating insight. “The Parts of a Unity. Stories from the Collection of the Kunstgewerbemuseum” plays with the relationships between the whole and its constituent parts. These are extremely varied and are discussed under nine areas. It becomes clear in this that, apart from classifications according to art history and by materials, other surprising themes also emerge. The exhibits enter into new associations and can be looked at, explored and understood from unexpected angles.

Stories are told, for instance, the story of how a baroque cupboard similar to one of the modular wall units made in the German workshops at Hellerau can be taken apart and turned into a compact pile of pieces in just a few simple steps. Or what labyrinthine interpretations lie behind a naturalistic metal crab or a set of Japanese vases. Fragments, misjudged gifts, connections across objects, alterations, reclassifications and the relationships of substitutes are the themes of this exhibition. The depth of the museum’s collection and the contemporary relevance of this museum, which promises its visitors many more discoveries, both become equally clear.

The central exhibition hall of the Lipsiusbau offers an unusual sight. Over the wall runs an apparently endless series of inventory numbers from the collection. From number 1 in 1873, “Rhine Wine Glass with Gold Rim”, to number 55712, the latest acquisition; the numbers represent the objects in storage. Museum staff deal with this day in day out, investigating and researching the objects there, attempting to classify them and yet often, despite years of intensive work, they are unable to give a definitive answer to all the questions. It becomes clear how the work that is carried out here every day with such passion is almost never-ending and what new challenges it continues to throw up.

In the next ENTERprise (architecture, Vienna) und Fons Hickmann m23 (graphics, Berlin), we had two of the most forward-looking creative agencies in the German-speaking region to design the exhibition. The form of the display is different for each group of exhibits, and it invites us to explore their significance playfully and intuitively. This makes it possible to tell many exciting stories of a museum that is still waiting to be rediscovered. In “The Parts of the Unity”, the Kunstgewerbemuseum continues to rebrand itself in innovative style and move further towards the centre of town.