With the exhibition "Beautiful & Strict: The Power of Ornament. From Henri Matisse to the present day", the Von der Heydt Museum is devoting itself to the role of ornament, pattern, repetition and geometric order in art. Based on the Wuppertal museum's renowned collection of paintings, the exhibition shows how artists such as Henri Matisse and August Macke have made color, form and surface the actual subject of their paintings since the beginning of the 20th century. The ornament does not appear as mere decoration, but as an artistic principle that creates clarity, structure and sensual presence.
The exhibition, which runs from October 11, 2026 to February 14, 2027, combines the aesthetic pleasure of looking with art-historical and social reflection. Works by contemporary artists such as Philip Taaffe, Katja Davar, Thomas Bayrle, Nevin Aladağ, Azra Akšamija and Susan Hefuna show that repeats, series, ornaments and traditional patterns today also raise questions about identity, migration, cultural translation and social meaning.
The Von der Heydt-Museum thus spans an arc from abstract art, concrete art and Op Art to current positions in global contemporary art. The exhibition makes it clear that ornaments are not a marginal phenomenon in art history, but a carrier of history, meaning and communication. They are beautiful in their sensual effect and strict in their formal order.
Services
- Admission to the exhibition "Beautiful & Strict: The Power of Ornament. From Henri Matisse to the present day"
- Admission to other special exhibitions taking place at the same time in the Von der Heydt Museum
- Admission to the permanent collection of the Von der Heydt Museum
