Tom Sachs Au rendez-vous des amis

The exhibition Au rendez-vous des amis resulted from the idea of presenting a few works from the Sammlung Goetz in the Pinakothek der Moderne with the aim of rendering the diverse reciprocal relationships between contemporary art and Modernism visible. Curatorial work on the collections, however, revealed an almost inexhaustible potential, resulting in an extensive exhibition of over 200 works.

With its multitude of startling new artistic styles, Modernism has remained a source of inspiration for successive generations of later artists. It paved the way for the liberation of perspective, proportion, and colour from formal verisimilitude. This living legacy is vividly reflected in the display of modern art from our own collection, now presented in relation to contemporary works from the Sammlung Goetz. The joint display leads to a broadening of artistic media, away from the traditional collection core of paintings to include photography, sculpture, and textile art. Many of the more recent artists also take a critical look at this legacy of Western culture and question how art, then and now, deals with the body, gender, and identity.