Im Skulpturenpark der Kunsthalle Bielefeld können Gäste 20 Arbeiten auf der Grünfläche entdecken. Die Sparrenburg ist von weitem zu sehen, © Tourismus NRW e.V.

Kun­sthalle Biele­feld

Biele­feld

There he’s calmly sit­ting on his stony rock, rest­ing his head in his right hand while he’s gaz­ing at the ground. His thoughts are roam­ing far and wide: Since the open­ing of the Kun­sthalle Biele­feld in 1968, Au­gust Rod­in’s “Thinker” has been pon­der­ing out­side of the mu­seum’s main en­trance at the south-west­ern end of the old town. The statue points guests to­wards one of the most ex­traordin­ary art col­lec­tions North Rhine-West­phalia has to of­fer, im­press­ing rather by qual­ity than quant­ity. The col­lec­tion hos­ted in a cu­bist build­ing with a façade of red sand­stone, prop­erly con­sidered an ar­chi­tec­tur­al piece of art in its own right, is dom­in­ated by in­di­vidu­al pieces rather than en­tire groups of works.

Any guests inspecting the postmodern-looking building by US star architect Philip Johnson more closely from the outside will immediately notice its massive upper part, resting fully closed on a smaller lower unit characterised by narrow projecting girder wall sections and wide window areas. Inside, amazement can be found right upon entering since the sophisticated room structure allows perfect access to the outstanding works of the late 19th and 20th centuries.

The Kunsthalle Bielefeld specialises entirely in modern and contemporary art, owning a collection of 500 paintings, 200 sculptures, and about 4,500 watercolours, drawings, and prints displayed in the permanent exhibition as well as in themed temporary ones. On exhibition space covering 1200 square metres, visitors can find works by Pablo Picasso, Max Beckmann, and Käthe Kollwitz, among other artists. These are part of the diverse overall ensemble defined primarily by striking individual works by a wide variety of artists.

A walk through the museum’s own sculpture park concludes the visit in a publicly accessible green space with an elegant water basin and looped paths that offers another 20 eye-catchers for closer inspection: Richard Serra’s “Axis” appears huge, heavy, and monumental here. The ten-metre-tall sculpture comprising three rust-red Corten steel panels is towering into the sky. Just a few steps on from it, Bettina Pousttchi’s “Viktoria” is referring to the back-and-forth interaction, the sharing of public space. She has arranged street bollards, usually standing individually, in an open area here. Their curved heads enclose each other in a work that brings up a few questions. Let us return to Rodin’s statue and the pause and reflection on the things just experienced that it inspires.

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Be inspired: images of your NRW

Im Skulpturenpark der Kunsthalle Bielefeld können Gäste 20 Arbeiten auf der Grünfläche entdecken. Die Sparrenburg ist von weitem zu sehen, © Tourismus NRW e.V.
Der kubistische Bau der Kunsthalle Bielefeld mit seiner Fassade aus rotem Sandstein ist ein Hingucker, © Tourismus NRW e.V.
Der Denker des Bildhauers August Rodin sinniert seit 1968 vor dem Haupteingang der Kunsthalle Bielefeld, © Tourismus NRW e.V.
Eine weitere Sehenswürdigkeit, die nicht weit entfernt von der Kunsthalle liegt, ist das Otto von Bismarck-Denkmal, © Tourismus NRW e.V.

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Kunsthalle Bielefeld
Artur-Ladebeck-Straße 5
33602 Bielefeld

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Opening Hours

Tuesday 11:00 - 18:00
Wednesday 11:00 - 21:00
Thursday 11:00 - 18:00
Friday 11:00 - 18:00
Saturday 11:00 - 18:00
Sunday 11:00 - 18:00
Holiday 11:00 - 18:00

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