As early as the 1960s, a movement to create designs that were modern, yet suited the manufactory’s traditional style, led to the founding of the “Artistic Development” collective, formed around the porcelain artists Ludwig Zepner, Heinz Werner and Peter Strang. Their services, figures and one-off pieces combine baroque opulence with elements of modern design.
In the 1980s, a young generation of artists emerged who included Silvia Klöde and Jörg Danielczyk. They and others had a formative influence on the post-1990 period, which was characterised by effusive expressions of freedom and experimentation.
Also of interest:
MeissenLabs #3: Trade
Part 3 of MeissenLab is about trade with countries outside the socialist bloc. The most important sales market was West Germany. In the 1980s, Japan also rose to a prominent position, with the GDR maintaining close diplomatic and economic ties.
Kontrapunkte ("Counterpoints") - The GDR, Dresden and the global South
In 2022 and 2023, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden are fixing their gaze once again on GDR times in their research and exhibition project “Kontrapunkte” (“counterpoints”), funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation. Based on their own holdings and the history of their collection, fresh perspectives are being developed on art in the GDR, how it was seen and the significance allotted to it in the past and present, with the addition of international viewpoints. To this end, a range of physical and digital formats are in the pipeline, information on which will be provided on this platform.
Design Campus 2023: Becoming Plant
This year, the Design Campus at the Kunstgewerbemuseum is all about plants. In their opening lecture for the Design School, design duo d-o-t-s, who also curated the exhibition Plant Fever, call for a rethinking of the relationship between humans and plants. d-o-t-s on the invention of the salt shaker and rooting robots.