Hamburger Bahnhof – Endless Exhibition
Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, Berlin
Art installation documentation, 2023
This series documented the Endless Exhibition at Hamburger Bahnhof, following the 22 works that extend from the museum’s interior into the garden and surrounding city. The commission focused on how light installations, sculptures, historic sites and new commissions by Judith Hopf, Claudia Wieser and Susan Philipsz are woven into a continuous route, connecting the collection to the building’s architecture, its former border location and the everyday life of the neighbourhood.
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Exhibition text by Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart
The Endless Exhibition now includes 22 artworks from the Hamburger Bahnhof collection displayed indoors and outdoors. The microsite and booklet guide visitors through the museum, garden, and surrounding areas, connecting the collection with history, architecture, and the neighbourhood. The tour includes Dan Flavin’s light installation (1996), historic sites such as the former border crossing at Invalidenstraße, Christian Boltanski’s The Missing House in Große Hamburger Straße (1990), and annually commissioned works by Berlin-based artists Judith Hopf (2023), Claudia Wieser (2024), and Susan Philipsz (2025).
Each year, the Endless Exhibition is supplemented by a newly created work of art permanently acquired for the Nationalgalerie collection. As all the artworks to date have been made by male artists, female artists have been invited to contribute works from 2023 to 2025. The 2023 installations, dem Kirschbaum ähnelnde Essigbaumäste and Regen, by Berlin-based artist Judith Hopf address nature’s energy and resilience lying beyond human influence. They are on view in the passageway to the east wing. Since June 2024, a tiled work by Berlin-based artist Claudia Wieser has been installed on the rounded elevator shaft at the entrance to the restaurant. In 2025 Scottish sound artist Susan Philipsz has developed a new sound installation for the Endless Exhibition, which is implemented in Hamburger Bahnhof’s courtyard and explores the site and its history.