Ontdek de collectie
Kunstmuseum Den Haag has a treasure chamber of over 160.000 pieces of art. Here we work on making the highlights from this collection available online.
Klaus Baumgärtner - Simple things
An ode to simple life
The Simple things exhibition offers an intimate glimpse into the poetic visual world of Klaus Baumgärtner. Using branches, wooden blocks, newspaper clippings, pencils, erasers and tin cans, Baumgärtner achieved creative expression through the mundane.
Curating the ordinary
Baumgärtner worked in a tradition known as assemblage, a movement which emerged in the early 20th century in response to the aesthetic pomp of the artistic establishment. He began each work with the act of looking and then collected objects that caught his eye. Focusing on simplicity and tranquillity, he altered these found materials as little as possible. The resulting works centre on the interplay of rhythm, form, line, contrast and connection.
The humble combinations avoid any fixed narrative. Quite the opposite, in fact: Baumgärtner was not interested in explanations. His work invites the viewer to look and to find beauty in the ordinary and the unexpected.
‘Look with fresh eyes in order to assign new meaning to what already exists.’
About Klaus Baumgärtner
Baumgärtner (1948-2013) was not only a sculptor, photographer and book designer but a typographer as well. Born in Germany, he trained in Switzerland. He moved to The Hague in 1984 in order to take a teaching position at the Royal Academy of Art, KABK. Baumgärtner was a popular lecturer whose keen powers of observation and versatile artistic practice made a deep impression on his students.
Available in the Kunstmuseum Shop
Two publications on Klaus Baumgärtner are available for purchase in our Shop. Klaus Baumgärtner – Collage offers a rich overview of his life and work, while Klaus Baumgärtner – Sequence presents a remarkable selection of photographs by the artist. The latter was first published in 2018 in connection with his exhibition in Fotomuseum Den Haag.