Fons Hickmann at Diesel Power Plant Cottbus: Poster art as a visual thought image
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Fons Hickmann: Three decades of poster art at Diesel Power Plant Cottbus
With the exhibition Fons Hickmann. Posters from today and before, the Brandenburg State Museum of Modern Art dedicates a comprehensive solo exhibition to the internationally awarded communication designer. From October 3 to December 6, 2026, a concentrated look at three decades of independent poster design, typographic precision, and visual experimentation opens up at the Diesel Power Plant Cottbus.
The poster as a visual thought image
Fons Hickmann, born in Hamm in 1966, is one of the defining German communication designers of the present. Since founding his Berlin design studio in 2001, he has been developing complex visual systems for cultural institutions, festivals, and social themes. His posters combine painting, photography, typography, and media-reflexive design into an art form where information itself becomes an aesthetic experience.
Series, contrasts, and social interventions
The exhibition focuses on posters that were often created as series for long-term clients from the cultural sector. Recurring forms, irritating imagery references, and striking typographic settings create a strong spatial impact. The collection is complemented by works with self- and media-reflexive character as well as self-commissioned posters that make socio-political themes visible as paper interventions.
A collection grows
The Brandenburg State Museum of Modern Art has been collecting Hickmann's graphic works for many years. A substantial donation from the designer has expanded this collection into a significant corpus. The exhibition not only makes individual design solutions visible but also shows how artistic thought develops, condenses, and reinvents itself over three decades.
Typography between art, communication, and research
Hickmann studied communication design as well as aesthetics and media theory. His work oscillates between applied art, graphic design, and visual culture. As a professor at the University of the Arts Berlin, author, editor, and member of international design associations, he simultaneously shapes cultural education and discourse on contemporary poster art. His studio has received numerous awards, including international typography, design, and poster awards.
Exhibition atmosphere and art experience
The exploration of works at the Diesel Power Plant Cottbus leads through a tension field of color, surface, materiality, and signs. Paper becomes a carrier of political thoughts, typographic order tips into visual movement, and the exhibition shows the poster as an immediate interface between public space and individual perception. Visitors can expect an inspiring aesthetic experience that sharpens the view of everyday images and cultural communication.
Conclusion: Experience poster art live
Fons Hickmann. Posters from today and before combines art historical classification, graphic precision, and social reflection. The exhibition shows how multifaceted a poster can be as an image, text, sign, and time document. Those interested in modern art, typography, visual communication, and cultural education will discover a concentrated art experience with a lasting effect at the Diesel Power Plant Cottbus.
Official channels of Fons Hickmann:
- Instagram: no official profile found
- Facebook: no official profile found
- YouTube: no official profile found
- Website: https://fonshickmann.com/studio/
