A wide-ranging selection of magnificent and historically important works of art brings to life the fascinating history and art of the Byzantine empire. The exhibition provides a comprehensive survey of the 'Byzantine millenium' which began with the foundation of Constantinople by Constantine the Great in 324 AD and ended with the conquest of the city by the Ottomans in 1453. The exhibition focuses on the period of Byzantium's greatest glory from the time of Justinian I (527–565) to the sacking of Constantinople at the hands of Christian crusaders in 1204.

More than 400 loans from European and American museums – precious ivories, spectacular icons and manuscripts, architectural fragments, sculptures and everyday objects – are presented in their original contexts. Digitally reconstructed sites (e.g. Constantinople or Ephesus) address key questions about the Byzantine state, its art, culture, society and economy and offer visitors an unprecedented insight into everyday life in the Byzantine empire.

The sole continental venue of this exhibition, the show brings together over 250 magnificent objects from India's royal collections, many seen in Europe for the first time. The exhibition includes three thrones, a silver gilt howdah, gem-encrusted weapons, court paintings, photographs, Indian turban jewels and jewellery commissioned from Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels in the 20th century.

The exhibition covers the period from the 18th century, when the great era of the maharajas began, to the end of the Raj (British rule) in 1947. It shows the changing role of the maharajas in an historical and social context and look at how their patronage of the arts both in India and Europe resulted in splendid and beautiful commissions designed to enhance royal status and identity.

The maharajas were also patrons of the emerging European avant-garde. The show includes modernist furniture commissioned by the maharaja of Indore for his palace in the 1930s and architectural designs for the Umaid Bhawan palace, an Art deco style residence commissioned by the Maharaja of Jodhpur.

This is an exhibition presenting a selection of 145 works by 57 artists from 15 private collections in Germany, France and Switzerland.

Why Curious? The exhibition hopes to throw into sharp relief the key questions that have shaped contemporary art and provides a glimpse of the art to come. Central to the narrative is the question how art responds to the current political, social and private reality. What unites all the artists presented in Curious? - the majority of whom were born in the 1960s and 70s - is that they develop their work on the basis of clear concepts and strategies. 

The artists follow two main lines of enquiry that come to the fore in this exhibition. One gives rise to a radical paring down of form and a minimalist use of material, in which narrative is the result of the form, material and structure of the work; the other favours clearly legible figuration, the broad use of narrative devices and does not shy away from shocking or irritating imagery.

In view of the global cultural competition that marks the beginning of the 21st century, this new series of exhibitions at the Art and Exhibition Hall examines the potential relationship between public museums and private collections.

Collections:

About Change Collection
Boros Collection
Evergreen Collection, Berlin
Falckenberg Collection, Hamburg
Antoine de Galbert Foundation, La Maison Rouge
Gensollen Collection, Marseille
Goetz Collection
Haubrok Collection
KiCo Collection
Paul Maenz Collection, Berlin
Olbricht Collection

Private Collection, Cologne
Ellen and Michael Ringier Collection, Switzerland
Schürmann Collection
Julia Stoschek Foundation e.V.

Artists:

Vito Acconci, Doug Aitken, Heike Baranowsky, Hubert Becker, Karla Black, John Bock, Carol Bove, Birgit Brenner, Anthony Burdin, Patty Chang, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Hanne Darboven, Nathalie Djurberg, Cheryl Donegan, Sam Durant, Marcel Dzama, Cao Fei, Peter Fischli/David Weiss, Richard Fleischer, Ceal Floyer, Gelitin/Gelatin, General Idea, Wade Guyton, Philippe Halsmann, Diango Hernandez, Hannah Höch, Pierre Joseph, William Kentridge, Kitty Kraus, Michael Kunze, Alicja Kwade, Lisa Lapinski, Mark Leckey, Daniel Lergon, Kris Martin, Lucy McKenzie, Alex McQuilkin, Lorna Macintyre, Mathieu Mercier, Hans Niehus, Paulina Oslowska, Roman Ondák, Pavel Pepperstein, Raymond Pettibon, Peter Piller, Seth Price, Thomas Scheibitz, Tino Sehgal, Katja Strunz, Vibeke Tandberg, Mathilde ter Heijne, Mario Garcia Torres, Jens Ullrich, Kelley Walker, Cathy Wilkes, Johannes Wohnseifer, Aaron Young

For this exhibition the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw sought out the collaboration of artists with whom it had previously worked in its pioneering days. Artists: Wojciech Bąkowski, Yael Bartana, Tania Bruguera, Oskar Dawicki, Sharon Hayes, Sanja Iveković, Daniel Knorr, KwieKulik, Zbigniew Libera, Anna Molska, Paulina Ołowska, Agnieszka Polska, Joanna Rajkowska, Ahlam Shibli, Jan Smaga, Anna Zaradny, Artur Żmijewski.

Early Years is part of the project "The Promised City", a cultural initiative between Berlin and Warsaw with performances in Mumbai and Bucharest. Artists, curators and academics from Germany, Poland, India, and Romania have developed various new creative productions, all of which are interdisciplinary and revolve around subjects of the dreams, illusions, and promises of modern metropolises.

Charlottenburg, Altes Schloss
Spandauer Damm 10-22
14059 Berlin
Germany

Johann Sebastian Bach: Johannes-Passion BWV 245

Gewandhausorchester
Dresdner Kammerchor
Riccardo Chailly, conductor
Katerina Beranova, soprano
Maria Riccarda Wesseling, alto
Jörg Dürmüller, tenor (Evangelist)
James Taylor, tenor (Arien)
Yorck Felix Speer, bass (Christus)
Jochen Kupfer, bass (Arien)

Beethoven: Overture Die Weihe des Hauses, Op.124
Beethoven: Triple Concerto for violin, cello, and piano in C major, Op.56
Nielsen: Symphony no. 2, "The Four Temperaments", Op.16

NDR Sinfonieorchester
Alan Gilbert, conductor
Joshua Bell, violin

Suicidal Tendancies

Punishable Act