Looking for a top arts festival in Germany? In Düsseldorf, the Quadriennale takes place every four years, connecting 13 of the city's top arts venues for four months. This year, the festival will run from April 5 – August 10 with the theme of “Beyond Tomorrow”—check out some of the highlights!
“Art and Alchemy – The Mystery of Transformation” (Kunst und Alchemie – Das Geheimnis der Verwandlung) at the Museum Kunstpalast, an exhibit about the relationship between art and alchemy, with a variety of works from antiquity to the modern age. Artists shown include Joseph Beuys, Jan Brueghel d.Ä., Lucas Cranach, Hendrick Goltzius, Max Ernst, Rebecca Horn, Anish Kapoor, Yves Klein, Sigmar Polke, Rembrandt van Rijn, and Peter Paul Rubens.
K20 Museum, which houses the collection of the State North Rhine-Westphalia, will show “Kandinsky, Malevich, Mondrian – The Infinite White Abyss” (Kandinsky, Malewitsch, Mondrian – Der weiße Abgrund Unendlichkeit), an exploration of white parts in the works of the title’s three artists.
Utopic and anti-utopic aspects of life below ground is the focus of an exhibit at K21 Museum, titled “Beneath the Ground: From Kafka to Kippenberger” (Unter der Erde: Von Kafka bis Kippenberger).
“Smart New World” is the name of the exhibit at Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, which examines “data capitalism” and its effects on everyday life, such as permanent surveillance and the shifting of lives from private to public.
For a full program of Quadriennale Düsseldorf 2014 activities and exhibits, visit www.quadriennale-duesseldorf.de.
Good to know: The city’s tourism office is offering hotel and city specials for Quadriennale Düsseldorf 2014. The travel package called “Quadriennale 2014” can be booked right from the tourism office’s website. All packages include breakfast, a Düsseldorf Welcome Card (free public transportation within city limits, one ticket to Quadriennale Düsseldorf 2014, plus more than 40 free or reduced admissions to city attractions), a city information package, and a MERIAN city guide.
Getting there: Düsseldorf's airport has plenty of connections from the United States, with flights on American Airlines from Chicago, on Delta from Atlanta and on Air Berlin and Lufthansa from numerous hubs.