Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel has opened the “Nature and structure” art exhibition at the Bundesbank’s Chemnitz branch. This exhibition is one way in which Germany’s central bank is marking the 2025 year of culture, during which Chemnitz is the European Capital of Culture. Boasting some 40 works of modern and contemporary art from the Bundesbank’s collection, this exhibition will be open to the general public until 7 November.

© Christian Schneider-Broecker

Nagel used his opening speech to highlight the unifying power of art and culture: Culture brings people together, promotes dialogue and opens up new perspectives. It is perhaps the most beautiful way to strengthen the integration of Europe. This idea, he explained, runs like a thread through the “Nature and structure” exhibition, which invites the viewer to uncover the lines connecting seemingly contradictory concepts, like nature and culture, chaos and order, or the living and the constructed.

Art and architecture in dialogue

The backdrop to this exhibition is provided by the architecture of the Chemnitz branch, designed by Spanish architect Josep Lluís Mateo. The building itself makes a feature of the tension between organic and inorganic materials that can also be found in the artworks on display there. 

Exhibited artists include Isa Genzken, whose collages draw inspiration from skyscraper façades; Titus Schade, whose paintings fuse traditional and modern architecture; Esther Stocker, with her playful grasp of abstract structures and geometrical patterns; and Chemnitz-born Carsten Nicolai, an artist who operates at the intersection of art, natural science and music.

Works by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Erich Heckel, both co-founders of the “Die Brücke” group of artists, are also on display.

The Bundesbank’s art collection

© Christian Schneider-Broecker

The Bundesbank has long been a collector of art, acquiring contemporary and modern works for its collection since back in the 1950s as a way of encouraging dialogue between art and the world of work. This idea of “art in the workplace” remains a hallmark of the Bundesbank’s collection to this day and is intended to encourage people to engage with the present and broaden their horizons.

The collection is also a manifestation of the Bundesbank’s civic engagement, being a means of supporting artists and providing insights into how art in the Federal Republic of Germany has evolved over time.