Luigi Colani (1928–2019), born in Berlin, was never one to be at a loss for a pithy remark. “Bauhaus is out!” he declared, calling for the “renaissance of art nouveau” in 1977. In the 1960s, Colani also brought about a revolution in German design because he made a brand out of himself and his name. He used the possibilities of the newly developed material plastic to create unusual and futuristic forms.
He often tied in the floral and organic forms of art nouveau, whose fundamental ideas and concepts he wanted to develop further. In the mid 1970s, Colani visited the Bröhan Museum (which was then still a private museum in a villa in Berlin-Dahlem). He was given a guided tour of the collection by the museum’s founder, Karl H. Bröhan himself.
After more than four decades, the show “Luigi Colani and Art Nouveau” actually brings art nouveau and Colani’s creative world together. In the exhibition, which is on show until 30 May 2021, more than 100 of Colani’s designs from a private collection are juxtaposed with art nouveau objects from the museum’s collection. Furniture, pictures, photos, porcelain, glass and metal objects as well as the bodyshell of a sports car are on display.
