5 exhibitions celebrating Bauhaus’ 100th birthday

April marks the official centenary of the Bauhaus — the famous design school in Dessau was founded 100 years ago by Walter Gropius. With the anniversary comes an array of experimental and thought-provoking exhibitions in Germany and beyond, exploring the far-reaching achievements of the movement across design, architecture, photography, typography and art. Here are our picks.

Bauhaus: Pioneers of a New World 

Bauhaus: Pioneers of a New World looks at the modernist painter Piet Mondrian as the Netherlands’ key connection to the movement, while exploring how Bauhaus disseminated throughout the world. Displaying 800 objects – from art to furniture, ceramics, textiles, photographs, typography and architectural drawings – the exhibition runs parallel to a series of pop-up Bauhaus installations in unusual locations around the city, as well as performances, concerts and lectures created in collaboration with the museum’s partners, Scapino Ballet and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.

Running through 26 May 2019 at Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam. 

Bauhaus Imaginista: Still Undead

Throughout 2018, Bauhaus Imaginista presented a number of exhibitions worldwide, bringing Bauhaus to Tokyo, New Dehli, New York and Rabat. Still Undead is the final installment in the series, focussing on the individual chapters in one exhibition, as well as premiering Berlin’s own contribution to the project: an exploration of Bauhaus’ experimental work with light, sound, film and photography.

Running through 10 June 2019 at Haus Der Kulturen Der Welt, Berlin. 

Design for Life – Bauhaus Design in the GDR

While the Bauhaus movement technically ended in 1933, its influence had a huge impact in the years after the Second World War and the division of Germany. This exhibition in Eisenhüttenstadt displays a variety of everyday objects from household items to furniture, graphic design to product photography that represent Bauhaus’ commitment to clear-cut forms and functionality. Examining the changing attitudes to Bauhaus in the GDR, the show presents profiles of the artists who lived and worked under the socialist regime.

Opening 7 April 2019 to 5 January 2020 at Dokumentationszentrum Alltagskultur Der DDR, Eisenhüttenstadt. 

Oskar Schlemmer: The Bauhaus and the Path to Modernity

Oskar Schlemmer was one of the most renowned and diverse Bauhaus innovators, training as a painter and sculptor before choreographing dance performances and designing sets for the stage. The Ducal/Herzogliches Museum in Gotha will pay tribute to him, focusing on work from the Twenties and Thirties that explores his interest in our relationship with technology.

Opens 28 April to 28 July 2019 at Ducal/ Herzogliches Museum, Gotha. 

The Bauhaus and Harvard

Harvard University hosted the first Bauhaus exhibition in America back in 1930 and they’re now celebrating the 100th anniversary of the movement with a comprehensive exhibition. With 200 works drawn almost exclusively from Harvard’s Busch-Reisinger Museum, the largest collection of Bauhaus work outside of Germany, the exhibition will display rarely seen student exercises, photography, textiles, typography, paintings and archival materials.

Running through to 28 July 2019 at Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge (MA).

Bauhaus | documenta. Vision and Brand

This special exhibition at the Neue Galerie Kassel. curated by Bauhaus director Philipp Oswalt and Daniel Tyrkas, explores the connection between the modernist movement and the quinquennial contemporary art exhibition. The exhibition will compare and contrast Bauhaus and documenta as two significant global grands emerging out of twentieth century Germany and positioning themselves as leading artistic innovators in the global sphere.

Opens on 24 May to 8 September 2019 at Neue Galerie, Kassel.