Name: Strangers and Freedom. Pückler - Dialogue about a Cosmopolitan. Mona Höke and Kathrin Karras
Start: 2026-07-16T13:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-07-16T21:00:00+02:00
Location: Brandenburgisches Landesmuseum für Moderne Kunst - Dieselkraftwerk Cottbus

Strangers and Freedom in BLMK: An Artistic Dialogue on Pückler, Identity and the Present

At the Brandenburg State Museum for Modern Art in the Diesel Power Plant Cottbus, an exhibition cycle unfolds that impressively connects historical reflection and contemporary visual language. Strangers and Freedom brings painter Mona Höke and photographer Kathrin Karras into a shared dialogue with Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau, opening the view on themes such as cosmopolitanism, mobility, strangeness, and freedom.

An Exhibition Format with Intellectual Scope

The presentation does not regard Pückler as a monument but as a multifaceted projection surface. This is precisely where the special strength of this exhibition lies: Historical figures and current art production enter into a lively exchange where photography, digital image production, and unique painting intertwine. Those interested in art historical contextualization, curation, and aesthetic experience will find a sophisticated art experience with intellectual depth here.

Mona Höke and Kathrin Karras: Two Positions, One Shared Resonance Space

Mona Höke works as a painter and graphic artist in image spaces between stage, painting, and spatial imagination. Her works are shaped by scenographic thinking, color dramaturgy, and the question of spatial impact. Kathrin Karras, born in 1967 in Guben, lives and works in Löwenberger Land and develops photographic work groups that poetically condense nature, interspaces, and societal perception. In Strangers and Freedom, this leads to a dialogue that expands the individual work and productively shifts the boundaries between the media.

Pückler as a European Thought Figure

The reference to Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau gives the exhibition a cultural-historical dimension. Pückler represents landscape culture, travel experience, cosmopolitanism, and the tension between embarking and belonging. The artists engage with these dimensions and translate them into a contemporary language that negotiates questions of openness, cultural movement, and artistic translation. Thus, the exhibition becomes a consideration of the work on strangeness as a productive experience.

The Venue: The Diesel Power Plant as an Architectural Resonance Body

The former diesel power plant is itself a place with a strong aura: industrial, clear, history-conscious. The spaces of BLMK create a concentrated exhibition atmosphere for painting and photography, where light, material, and hanging play a special role. The modern museum architecture supports the perception of the works and sharpens the view for details, surfaces, and image rhythms.

Conclusion: An Exhibition Experience for Art Lovers and Culture Enthusiasts

Strangers and Freedom promises a reflective, sensual, and visually powerful exhibition about art, history, and the present. Those seeking art as a thinking space and art experience should definitely take note of this date in Cottbus. The show invites you to read Pückler anew, see visual worlds anew, and recontextualize the concept of freedom in the museum.