Fons Hickmann at Diesel Power Plant Cottbus: Poster Art as a Visual Thought Image
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Fons Hickmann: Poster Art between Design, Society, and Visual Research
The Brandenburg State Museum of Modern Art presents the exhibition Fons Hickmann. Posters from today and before at the Diesel Power Plant Cottbus. The exhibition opens up a view of three decades of internationally awarded poster production and showcases graphic design as an independent cultural form of expression, as a visual thought image, and as a precise instrument of social communication.
When Design Becomes Visual Language
Fons Hickmann, born in 1966 in Hamm, is one of the prominent German graphic designers, typographers, and authors of today. After studying communication design, photography, aesthetics, and media theory, he founded the design studio Fons Hickmann m23 in Berlin in 2001. His works include complex communication systems, corporate design, book design, magazines, and posters.
The exhibition makes visible how Hickmann condenses information, directs perception, and translates social topics into a concentrated visual language. Typography, color, surface, and rhythm enter into a dynamic relationship. The poster emerges not just as a medium for advertising but as an independent form of painting with graphic means, as an installation in public space, and as the cultural memory of the present.
Three Decades of Internationally Awarded Poster Design
The exhibition gathers works from a career marked by international recognition. The studio Fons Hickmann m23 has received numerous awards, including the Golden Bee Award, the iF Award in Gold, ADC Awards, LeadAwards, and Joseph Binder Awards. In 2012, the Triennale Trnava honored Hickmann's complete works with the Master’s Eye Award.
The curatorial perspective connects design history with aesthetic analysis. Visitors encounter an art form where visual research, social reflection, and craftsmanship intertwine. The examination of the works also opens access to cultural education: it sharpens the perception of signs, fonts, image hierarchies, and the power of public communication.
Aesthetic Experience at Diesel Power Plant Cottbus
The exhibition atmosphere of the Diesel Power Plant enhances the impact of the posters. Amid industrial architecture, clear surfaces, and concentrated hanging, the works unleash their visual energy. Bright colors, strong contrasts, geometric shapes, and typographic condensing challenge the viewer's gaze and turn the exhibition space into a laboratory of perception.
The art experience arises in the dynamic between immediate impact and precise analysis. Some works present themselves to the audience as concise symbols, while others develop only in longer contemplation. Thus, the exhibition shows how poster art mediates between public visibility, political imagery, and personal aesthetic experience.
Visitor Information about the Exhibition
The exhibition is on view from October 3 to December 6, 2026, at the Brandenburg State Museum of Modern Art, Diesel Power Plant Cottbus. It is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Regular admission is 4 euros, reduced admission is 3 euros. Admission is free for visitors up to 18 years old. A combination ticket for all exhibitions at the location costs 6 euros.
Conclusion: Experience Poster Art Live
Fons Hickmann. Posters from today and before awaits the audience as a concentrated encounter with typography, communication design, and contemporary visual culture. The exhibition combines art historical classification with sensual examination of works and makes palpable how socially effective images arise from letters, colors, and surfaces. Anyone wanting to experience the aesthetic power of the poster and the precise design language of Fons Hickmann directly should not miss this artistic experience at the Diesel Power Plant Cottbus.
Official Channels of Fons Hickmann:
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- Website: https://fonshickmann.com/
