Strangers and Freedom at BLMK Cottbus: Mona Höke and Kathrin Karras in dialogue with Pückler
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A poetic dialogue about Pückler, freedom, and seeing
At the Brandenburg State Museum for Modern Art in the Diesel Power Plant Cottbus, Strangers and Freedom brings together painting, photography, and collage in an exhibition that re-examines the cosmopolitan Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau. Mona Höke and Kathrin Karras develop a shared visual language, in which unique painting, digital image production, and photographic techniques interlock. The presentation runs from June 20 to August 23, 2026 and promises an art experience between historical reflection and contemporary aesthetics. ([blmk.de](https://www.blmk.de/programm/fremde-und-freiheit/))
When painting and photography penetrate each other
The collaborative working method of the two artists is particularly impressive. According to BLMK, alongside individually developed works, there are also joint images in which drawing, acrylic, ink, collage, and photography merge into multifaceted surfaces. This is exactly where the strength of this exhibition lies: it does not just show motifs but makes the process of seeing itself tangible. The result is a work observation that unfolds a dense exhibition atmosphere between spatial effect, light, and material. ([blmk.de](https://www.blmk.de/programm/fremde-und-freiheit/))
Pückler as a historical figure and artistic resonance space
The exhibition takes Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau as a starting point for a culturally and art-historically astute approach. The landscape designer, travel writer, and European-influenced flâneur is not illustrated, but translated into images that explore his complexity between strangers, freedom, movement, and self-design. BLMK thus relies on a form of cultural education that does not explain history, but transforms it into aesthetic experience. ([blmk.de](https://www.blmk.de/programm/fremde-und-freiheit/))
A museum with a strong collection and clear stance
The Brandenburg State Museum for Modern Art has one of the largest collections of modern and contemporary art in the region, with over 45,000 works, particularly strong in painting, photography, graphics, and poster art. The Diesel Power Plant Cottbus location is open Tuesday to Sunday from 11 AM to 7 PM and is accessible via elevators. This provides visitors with a historically informed place that convincingly combines accessibility and collection expertise. ([blmk.de](https://www.blmk.de/museum/?utm_source=openai))
Artists with an independent signature
Mona Höke, multiple award winner of the Art Promotion Award of Sparkasse Spree-Neiße and the Brandenburg Art Prize of Märkische Oderzeitung, is known for a poetically charged, graphically precise visual language. Kathrin Karras works as a photographic artist with works that negotiate distance, memory, and landscape experience; her photography is understood as an open space for reflection. In the joint exhibition, both positions do not sit side by side, but enter into productive tension with each other. ([galeriebrandenburg.de](https://galeriebrandenburg.de/mona-hoeke/?utm_source=openai))
Visit, guided tour, and admission
The regular admission for an exhibition at BLMK Cottbus is 4 Euro; separate rates apply for Sunday or guided formats. Additionally, a supporting educational offer is announced for the exhibition Strangers and Freedom: the Art Circle 60+ on August 12, 2026, with a guided tour by Ulrike Kremeier. This opens up a visit that can be not only viewed but also deepened. ([blmk.de](https://www.blmk.de/oeffnungszeiten-eintrittspreise/?utm_source=openai))
Conclusion: Strangers and Freedom is a clever, sensually dense exhibition about artistic collaboration, historical memory, and the fascination of the cosmopolitan. Those who want to experience painting and photography in a new connection should come to Cottbus this summer and discover the interplay of work, space, and idea live. ([blmk.de](https://www.blmk.de/programm/fremde-und-freiheit/))
Official channels of BLMK:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blmk.kunstmuseum/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blmk.kunstmuseum
- YouTube: no official profile found
- Website: https://www.blmk.de/
