Gerhard Marcks Stiftung

The mission statement of the Gerhard Marcks House combines the constitution of the Gerhard Marcks Foundation with the central ideas of our namesake and the history of the museum to this day.

Of course, we are guided by the „ standards for museums “ formulated by the German Museum Association / ICOM Germany in 2006 and reflect on their necessary further development. 

OUR MISSION STATEMENT 2021-2028

The Gerhard Marcks House sees itself as a lively, open and barrier-free museum for modern and contemporary sculpture. We want to get people excited about this topic and give them personal access to it.

We show high quality art to an audience as wide as possible. We respond to a diverse audience through personal address and openness. We aggressively represent what we mean by quality. Personal preferences and dislikes may be articulated.

From the original orientation of the museum as „ Einkünstlersammlung “ for Gerhard Marcks ( 1889-1981 ) there are three consequences for the exhibition program. First, there is an emphasis on an artist's individual visual language. The museum therefore shows almost exclusively monographic exhibitions. Second, there is sympathy for figurative positions in sculpture. Third, the museum – must be resistant to fashions and mechanisms of the art market in the tradition of naming.

GOAL OF THE MUSEUM TEAM

The aim of the museum staff is to make it easier for all visitors to access modern and contemporary sculpture. We define this task for dealing with our audience in three guiding principles:

We inspire visitors for sculpture.

We talk and write in an understandable and well-founded manner about art.

We don't exclude anyone.

We understand our museum as a place for special experiences. We want to offer our visitors an ambience in which dealing with sculpture becomes a stimulating and pleasant experience.

( INTER ) NATIONAL

The Gerhard Marcks House is connected to Bremen and is active nationally and internationally. In Bremen, the museum sees itself as an educational and cultural provider among equals. It cooperates with educational institutions, galleries, universities, artist initiatives and other museums. We actively establish and maintain contacts with politics, business and society at all levels. We do not retreat to our museum, but act with our attitude into society. Nationally and internationally, the Gerhard Marcks House sees itself as an active part of a network of institutions specializing in sculpture. 

Since the museum was founded, education and mediation have played a central role for the Gerhard Marcks House for all age groups. The conviction applies that knowledge about the practical examination of a medium is gained for the consideration. Regardless of the results of scientific research, the museum conveys that works of art enable very different – principally equivalent – experiences. Visitors are encouraged to take a position themselves. The employees and freelance managers in the museum are free to design their placement offers. We understand our team as a learning organization that learns from its visitors and partners, but also from their own mistakes.

The Gerhard Marcks House in Bremen is a museum for modern and contemporary sculpture. It is one of the nationally and internationally recognized sculpting museums.

Special exhibitions on the history and present of sculpture are shown here, which prove that sculpture is a living medium. Founded as a „ artists' collection “, the museum has continuously developed.

SCULPTURE NEEDS DAYLIGHT

The foundation was housed in 1969 in the former Easter Gate Guard next to the Kunsthalle Bremen, which was rebuilt for this purpose by the architect Bert Gielen. Museological considerations in today's sense played a minor role. Busch and Marcks believed that sculpture needed daylight. The Gerhard Marcks Foundation was personally connected to the Kunsthalle. The director Günter Busch was also the director of this museum. A custodian was created to look after the collection. The museum became independent in the mid-1980s. Dr. Martina Rudloff headed the museum from 1971 to 2000, almost 30 years. It shaped the museum during these years and continuously developed it further.

When the Gerhard Marcks House opened in 1971, the goal was formulated to present only works by Marcks there. This should give visitors the opportunity to fully think of an artist's work, to experience it in its scope and content „. The main focus of the first years was the preparation and publication of a catalog raisonné. In 1977 the work was published with a detailed introduction by Günter Busch and a scientific catalog raisonné written by Martina Rudloff. This catalog raisonné set the scientific standard for dealing with sculpture for many years.

The idea of using the Gerhard Marcks House with exhibitions by a single artist was abandoned in 1977. In addition to Gerhard Marcks' work, research and presentation of the entire sculpture of the 20th. Century and the present. In this way, the conditions for the development of a modern sculpture museum have been created. In 1990/91 the house was expanded to include an extension. Also in 1991, the city was able to gain the so-called pavilion –, originally built in 1904, a public demand facility – on the property of the Gerhard Marcks house.

Workshops

For 40 years, the courses offered by the Gerhard Marcks House in its own studio have been part of the permanent establishment of the Sculpture Museum. The course offer for adults and their income are used to finance part of the other museum educational activities. Artists offer courses in sculpture, painting, drawing and printmaking. Even without previous knowledge, everyone can get to know artistic questions here under professional guidance. Gerhard Marcks' versatile work and the works of other artists presented in the special exhibitions offer opportunities to deal with the visual arts and find your own artistic expression.