Events

To familiarize visitors with the complex themes addressed in the exhibition, an extensive programme of special events has been planned. Events took place every Tuesday and Thursday at 7 pm: lectures, readings, films, panels, and chamber concerts, all of which aided in the understanding of facets of the art historical epochs in which Grohmann was so actively involved.

Arranged thematically, every week was devoted to a different topic: the Dresden Sezession, the artists of Brücke and Bauhaus, the Nazi era, and the post-war period up to 1965. We invited renowned lecturers, and the panels brought together art historians, critics, experts from museums, art dealers, and psychologists to engage critically with various aspects of the complex profession of the critic. The focus also was on the actions of an earlier generation of critics, of whom Grohmann is an outstanding example. Readings from his correspondence rounded off the programme entertainingly.

Will Grohmann loved not just the fine arts and women, he also loved music. In his essays, he often uses music terminology, and the shared affinity for music also strengthened his bond to artist friends of his, in particular Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, and Karl Otto Götz.

Works by composers related in some way to artists represented in the exhibition, or who were active in Dresden during Grohmann’s time there, were performed in five concerts. Musicians performing included soloists of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden and the Berliner Philharmoniker, as well as outstanding guests like Roglit Ishay, Kolja Lessing, Ib Hausmann, Frank Gutschmidt, and the cellist Peter Brund. The chamber concerts, lectures, and panel discussions all took place in the lower foyer of the Lipsiusbau.