A Museum within a Museum

The Blue Rider at Tate

By Hannah Schorgg.

Since April 25, 2024 Tate Modern in London shows the exhibition "Expressionists. Kandinsky, Münter and the Blue Rider" in cooperation with the Lenbachhaus in Munich. This major joint project is however not only an enrichment for London. In order to make loans more climate-friendly and to save transport emissions, Tate Modern and the Lenbachhaus have decided to exchange their respective "showpieces" with each other. Therefore from October 28, 2023 to March 10, 2024 a number of works by Joseph Mallord William Turner were loaned to the Lenbachhaus Kunstbau and now over 130 works by The Blue Rider were brought to Tate Modern.

The exhibition "Expressionists", which can be seen at Tate Modern until October 20, 2024, shows important works by The Blue Rider and combines paintings, sculptures and photography with performance and sound. It is the first major exhibition on the artists' collective in London for over 60 years - many of the works have never been shown in the UK before.

When putting together the different pieces, Natalia Sidlina, curator at Tate Modern, placed great emphasis on connections with new ideas and modern approaches to interpretation. In addition to the well-known artists of the collective, the exhibition is dedicated above all to the women who played a central role in The Blue Rider. Themes such as environmental and identity issues, which were already being addressed by The Blue Rider at the time, can also be found in the exhibition.

The manifold press is delighted by the new arrivals at Tate Modern:

"Tate Modern, in collaboration with Lenbachhaus Munich, has curated an exhibition that stands as a true testament to The Blue Rider."
Cristina Mouchantaf, I-M-Magazine

"The exhibition was still a long way from opening when the art critics in the UK were already very impressed."
Christa Sigg, Abendzeitung

"This is effectively a museum within a museum: a vast tranche of the Lenbachhaus in Munich, augmented with occasional paintings from the Münter foundation and others. It is elegantly displayed – and carefully educational."
Laura Cumming, The Guardian

"The show feels like an extended PhD thesis. It is full of good, knotty argument. It breaks important new ground around such matters as gender, race, and nationalities — the Expressionism being described here is a multi-national project."
Michael Glover, Hyperallergic

"The show draws on the world’s richest collection of expressionist masterpieces at the Lenbachhaus in Munich, alongside rare loans from public and private collections, to bring together a marvellous display of key works.
[…]
These expressionist artists brought together broad and interconnected experiences, relationships and art practices, the diversity of which is amply demonstrated by this show.
[…]
The exhibition has major works and stunning images at every turn."
Jonathan Evens, Artlyst

"[…] a wonderful exhibition about an extraordinary art movement."
Melanie McDonagh, The Standard

"[…] this exhibition is as colourful and energising as you’d expect.
[…]
Of course, the relationships between music, light, colour and form were important to these artists, but these interventions make the exhibition flag. It is wonderful having the Schönberg playing in the gallery."
Hettie Judah, iNews

"[...] a fresh look at revolutionary art collective the Blue Rider."
Nicholas Wroe, The Guardian

"Tate Modern’s survey of Kandinsky, Münter and the rest of the avant-garde Blue Rider group is an exhilarating riot of colour – but also abounds with anxieties about the coming conflicts of the 20th century."
Jonathan Jones, The Guardian

"Showcasing some captivating, and at other times unsettling, works of Expressionism, many rarely seen in the UK, this consistently exciting exhibition concludes with a room that reveals the artists cementing their legacy."
James White, The Upcoming