4 Museums – 1 Modernism presents art, graphics, architecture and design from the 1910s to the 1930s from a new perspective. The exhibition at the Pinakothek der Moderne focuses on Modernism as one of the most important design eras – characterised by artistic abstraction, functional objectivity and a desire for social change. In a time of political uncertainty and technological innovation, works were created that formed a new view of man and his environment.

Four Perspectives on Modernity

• New Aesthetics is concerned with the dissolution of traditional design patterns in favour of geometric, reduced formal languages. Abstract painting, modern furniture design and visionary architectural concepts come together here.

• New Materials and Technologies shows the influence of new materials and production methods on architecture and design. The use of steel, aluminium and new plastics, as well as the technical innovations of electrified appliances, were revolutionary.

• New Institutions is dedicated to the educational institutions, patrons and venues of modernism. These include the Bauhaus reform schools and the Burg Giebichenstein School of Arts and Crafts.

• New Society focuses on people in the years following the First World War. Artists and architects moved between the challenges and utopias of a new world, reflecting social developments in their work.

The Exhibition as a Whole

The four collections of the Pinakothek der Moderne enter into a dialogue to make visible the interdisciplinary connections of Modernism. With works by Jankel Adler, Ernst Barlach, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, J. J. P. Oud, Oskar Schlemmer and Johanna Schütz-Wolff, the exhibition shows how art, design and architecture influenced each other.