Name: Strangeness and Freedom. Pückler - Dialogue about a Cosmopolitan. Mona Höke and Kathrin Karras
Start: 2026-07-10T13:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-08-23T21:00:00+02:00
Location: Brandenburgisches Landesmuseum für Moderne Kunst - Dieselkraftwerk Cottbus

A poetic dialogue between painting, photography, and Pückler’s worldview

At the Brandenburg State Museum for Modern Art - Diesel Power Station Cottbus, an exhibition cycle titled Strangeness and Freedom unfolds, intertwining historical reflection and contemporary image art closely together. The painter Mona Höke and the photographer Kathrin Karras approach Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau not illustratively, but as an artistic resonance space: photography, digital image production, and unique painting merge in a shared artistic contemplation into a multifaceted art experience. ([cottbus.de](https://cottbus.de/veranstaltungen/fremde-und-freiheit-pueckler-dialog-ueber-einen-kosmopolit-mona-hoeke-und-kathrin-karras/?utm_source=openai))

Between Strangeness and Freedom, a unique visual language emerges

The exhibition relies on layering, overlaying, and the productive intermediate space of two media. The interaction of painting and photography does not produce a mere juxtaposition, but an open aesthetic experience where gazes, memories, and historical imaginations interweave. This working method makes the project art-historically interesting: it reflects on the question of how a cosmopolitan way of life can be translated into a contemporary visual language. ([cottbus.de](https://cottbus.de/veranstaltungen/fremde-und-freiheit-pueckler-dialog-ueber-einen-kosmopolit-mona-hoeke-und-kathrin-karras/?utm_source=openai))

A place that breathes Modernity

The Diesel Power Station Cottbus provides the appropriate setting for this. The former industrial building now belongs to BLMK, a house with one of the most comprehensive collections of modern and contemporary art in Brandenburg. The spaces are open from Tuesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; all exhibition rooms, the event hall, and the mukk. are accessible by elevators. ([blmk.de](https://www.blmk.de/?utm_source=openai))

Mona Höke and Kathrin Karras in the art-historical context

Mona Höke is present as a painter with a clear, poetic handwriting in the Brandenburg art scene; she has been awarded the Art Promotion Prize of Sparkasse Spree-Neiße and has received further grants and awards. Kathrin Karras works as a photographer with a visual language that closely combines documentary and artistic processes. Together, they develop a dialogue that not only opens biographical and historical layers but also questions the present of seeing. ([galeriebrandenburg.de](https://galeriebrandenburg.de/mona-hoeke/?utm_source=openai))

What visitors can expect at the exhibition

Those visiting this exhibition will experience not a linear retelling, but a carefully composed parcours of images, transitions, and conceptual shifts. The allure lies in the encounter with a theme that extends far beyond Pückler: strangeness as a productive experience, freedom as an artistic attitude. The result is a concentrated art experience that is ideal for in-depth contemplation of the work. ([cottbus.de](https://cottbus.de/veranstaltungen/fremde-und-freiheit-pueckler-dialog-ueber-einen-kosmopolit-mona-hoeke-und-kathrin-karras/?utm_source=openai))

Conclusion: Strangeness and Freedom connects contemporary art, cultural history, and visual thinking into an exhibition of great atmospheric density. Art enthusiasts can expect a clever, sensual, and inspiring experience at the Diesel Power Station Cottbus – a visit is especially worthwhile for those who want to discover contemporary art in dialogue with history. ([cottbus.de](https://cottbus.de/veranstaltungen/fremde-und-freiheit-pueckler-dialog-ueber-einen-kosmopolit-mona-hoeke-und-kathrin-karras/?utm_source=openai))