Menu>Press
X
X
Menu>Newsletter

25 Years, 25 Works
The collections of the MGKSiegen

6.2.–14.6.26

The Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen (MGKSiegen) opened on May 6th, 2001, and is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. For a quarter of a century now, the museum has been offering visitors a fresh perspective on contemporary art and its history through its collections, exhibition programme, and a wide range of outreach.

To mark its anniversary, the MGKSiegen will be presenting the exhibition “25 Years, 25 Works”, which traces the museum’s development through 25 selected works. These works are representative of the significance and artistic focus of two collections – the Lambrecht-Schadeberg Collection, featuring the winners of the Rubens Prize of the City of Siegen, and our Contemporary Art Collection. Important 20th-century paintings encounter outstanding photographs and installation works from the 1960s to the present day. Formal and conceptual approaches are combined with social, political and global perspectives of contemporary art. The works reflect the history of exhibitions, reveal regional connections, and illustrate the immense private and public commitment behind the international art museum over the last 25 years.

After the exhibition period, the project will be extended into the public sphere in autumn 2026. The MGKSiegen will be on the move, showing the 25 works in the shape of temporary presentations, collaborative events, workshops, and digital formats at various locations in Siegen and the surrounding region.

With works by Francis Bacon, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Anna Boghiguian, Miriam Cahn, Mariana Castillo Deball, Lucian Freud, Rupprecht Geiger, Hans Haacke, Hans Hartung, Lena Henke, Candida Höfer, Maria Lassnig, Giorgio Morandi, Otto Piene, Sigmar Polke, Charlotte Posenenske, Bridget Riley, August Sander, Emil Schumacher, Antoni Tàpies, Diana Thater, Sung Tieu, Niele Toroni, Cy Twombly and Fritz Winter.

Curator: Thomas Thiel
Assistant Curator: Jessica Schiefer

The exhibition is supported by the Peter Paul Rubens-Foundation.

Download

Please select the images, videos and audio files for download. These press materials have been copyright cleared for media reproduction in the closer context and coverage of our exhibitions and events. The images shall be used in their entirety, reproduced in colour and not be cropped, super-imposed, or manipulated in any way. Mentioning credits and copyrights is required. We would be pleased about a copy of your publication.

Bernd und Hilla Becher, Eiserfelder Hütte, 1972, Sammlung Gegenwartskunst, MGKSiegen, © Estate Bernd and Hilla Becher, represented by Max Becher

Charlotte Posenenske, Vierkantrohre Serie DW, 1967, Contemporary Collection, MGKSiegen, © Estate Charlotte Posenenske, Photo: Philipp Ottendörfer

August Sander, Konditor, 1928, from: Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts 1912-1934, Prints 1961-1963, Contemporary Collection, MGKSiegen, © Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Köln – August Sander Archiv/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, 2026

Francis Bacon, Small Study for a Portrait, 1955, The Lambrecht-Schadeberg Collection, MGKSiegen, © The Estate of Francis Bacon/All rights reserved/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2026

Miriam Cahn, fleischhaus/hausbau 2.3.2005, The Lambrecht-Schadeberg Collection, MGKSiegen, Courtesy the artist

Emil Schumacher, Fluß, 1983, The Lambrecht-Schadeberg-Collection, MGKSiegen, © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2026

Cy Twombly, Leda and the Swan, 1963, The Lambrecht-Schadeberg Collection, MGKSiegen, © Cy Twombly Foundation, New York

Sigmar Polke, Strand, 1966, The Lambrecht-Schadeberg Collection, MGKSiegen, © The Estate of Sigmar Polke, Cologne/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2026

Anna Boghiguian, Egos and mirrors, 2021, Contemporary Collection, MGKSiegen, Courtesy the artist, Photo: Philipp Ottendörfer

Sung Tieu, The Opposite of Good is Good Intentions – The End Two, 2024, Contemporary Collection, MGKSiegen, Courtesy the artist

Diana Thater, Broken Circle, 1997/2001, Contemporary Collection, MGKSiegen, Courtesy the artist, Photo: Phillip Ottendörfer

Rupprecht Geiger, 848/91, 1991, Contemporary Collection, MGKSiegen, Permanent Loan City of Siegen, © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2026

Otto Piene, The Proliferation of the Sun, 1966/2003, Contemporary Collection, MGKSiegen, © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2026, Photo Phillip Ottendörfer

Lena Henke, My Trust, 2019, Contemporary Collection, MGKSiegen, Courtesy the artist, Photo: Philipp Ottendörfer

Maria Lassnig, Selbstportrait als Astronautin, 1968/69, The Lambrecht-Schadeberg Collection, MGKSiegen, © Maria Lassnig Foundation/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2026

Next