Wie viel Berlin passt auf 230 Quadratmeter?
The Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin has opened a compact exhibition titled "Ruin und Rausch: Berlin 1910–1930," featuring 35 works across just 230 square meters in a side cabinet of the lower floor. The show uses paintings, sculptures, film clips, and audio poems to tell the story of Berlin between World War I and the Nazi takeover, contrasting themes of excess and poverty, emancipation and extremism. It is structured in three chapters: "Berlin im Taumel" (Berlin in Frenzy), "Schatten der Großstadt" (Shadows of the Big City), and "Die Urbane Frau" (The Urban Woman), with works by artists such as Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Otto Dix, and Otto Nagel.
This exhibition matters because it addresses a strategic dilemma for the Nationalgalerie: its excellent 20th-century collection cannot be shown in full due to space constraints in the glass temple on Potsdamer Straße. By focusing on a specific period and using a contrast-driven narrative, the show offers a way to present significant works that are otherwise on tour worldwide. Additionally, the exhibition subtly reveals the history of two separate collections—from East and West Germany—highlighting how different artistic styles were favored on each side of the divided city.