The Year of Wolfgang Tillmans: Dresden, Remscheid, Paris - A Journey through Space, Time, and Society
Worldwide Triumphs of Wolfgang Tillmans: Celebrating Successes in Dresden, Remscheid, and Paris - Global Cities: Wolfgang Tillmans' Year in Dresden, Remscheid, and Paris
This is the year of Wolfgang Tillmans, the Remscheid native and Turner Prize winner. Right now, he's making waves with three major exhibitions across Europe.
The Albertinum in Dresden kicked things off, followed by the newly opened Haus Cleff in Tillmans' birthplace of Remscheid. On June 13, the art star takes center stage at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, before the museum closes for five years.
BetweenBeginnings and Ends
In Remscheid, Tillmans brings life to a museum, while in Paris, he closes the circle. A gift, he says, yet also a challenge. Moreover, a first. Tillmans moves away from the conventional exhibition spaces and instead occupies the empty library of the art and culture center - an epic area of approximately 6,000 square meters.
This unusual location is far from accidental: Books and newspapers have always held a central place in Tillmans' creations and inspirations. The exhibition spans almost 40 years of artistic endeavor, encompassing photography, music, video, and Tillmans' personal archive - presented chronologically, yet in conversation with the space itself.
A Diagnosis of the Present
The exhibition's title, "Rien ne nous y prépare – Tout nous y prépare" (Nothing could have prepared us – Everything could have prepared us) resonates as a sober assessment of the present. For Tillmans, it encapsulates the paradox of our time: While many crises – political, ecological, or societal – come as a surprise, they could have been foreseeable. "One could have seen some things coming – and perhaps didn't want to," Tillmans notes.
Art with a Personal Touch
"I don't see any limit to how political art can be," Tillmans says in an interview with the German Press Agency. For him, the personal is never unpolitical, and the political is personal. His works aim not to teach but to stimulate: to seeing and thinking.
This is evident in his motifs – such as Russian soldiers in front of a Dior store, the intimate kiss of two men, or the heavily secured border between the USA and Mexico.
Tillmans in Remscheid: Home and History
If you can't travel to Paris, don't worry: Until January 4, 2026, Tillmans' works from several decades will be on display in the historically restored Haus Cleff in Remscheid on 600 square meters. Tillmans was given the key to the civic house in the characteristic style of the Bergisches Land and curated the exhibition himself.
In his hometown, Tillmans has portrayed workers of the tool industry who made Remscheid a thriving city. They stand alongside his portraits of Kate Moss and Lady Gaga, just as photos of old factory halls contrast with those of server parks in Silicon Valley.
A Glimpse into the Vastness of the Cosmos
Tillmans can be seen in Dresden until June 26: The exhibition titled "Space" brings together around 200 photographs and video works, including works that have never before been exhibited in a museum. Tillmans' lifelong fascination with astronomy has furthered his understanding of observation, he states.
The connection to the sky and stars runs through the presentation, from images from the CERN research center in Switzerland to phenomena like the rare transit of Venus in front of the sun.
Tillmans is considered one of the most significant German artists of our time, winning the Turner Prize in 2000 and receiving the Goslarer Kaiserring. In 2023, the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York dedicated a major exhibition to him. His images of nightlife and club scenes, as well as celebrities from popular culture, brought him fame. "Die Zeit" once referred to him as the "most inventive image-maker of our time."
Enrichment Data:
Dresden Exhibition: Weltraum (Space)
- Date and Location: Starting on March 8, 2025, at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.
- Content: This exhibition focuses on works created since 2022, including his exploration of technology companies in San Francisco, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mongolia. It marks his first major museum exhibition in Germany in over half a decade.
Remscheid Exhibition
- Date and Location: Opening on April 12, 2025, at Haus Cleff in Remscheid, Tillmans' hometown.
- Content: This solo exhibition will feature a wide range of his works across 33 rooms, showcasing his ability to transform spaces into immersive art experiences.
Paris Exhibition: Nothing could have prepared us – Everything could have prepared us
- Date and Location: From June 13 to September 22, 2025, at the Centre Pompidou, Paris.
- Content and Location: This exhibition is set in the Public Information Library, which Tillmans has transformed into a vast installation space. He incorporates photography, video, sound, and text to explore knowledge and its dissemination, using the library's architecture to engage with the concept of information.
The community policy should consider allocating funds for the support of cultural events, such as the exhibitions of Wolfgang Tillmans, as they contribute significantly to the entertainment sector and can attract a diverse audience.
In line with the emphasis on music in Tillmans' works, the employment policy can prioritize the hiring of individuals with expertise in music production and curation for these cultural events, ensuring a rich and engaging experience for attendees.
