Art Collections

The Art Collections, which are comprised of about 4,000 pieces of art in various media (paintings, graphics, photography, site-specific works, sculptures), is managed by the Office for Academic Heritage, Scientific and Art Collections (OAH). The holdings are composed of the original art collection (before 1945) and objects acquired since 1951. The original art collection includes 150 works of art of different origins, which were unaffected by wartime destruction (paintings, aquarelle paintings, copperplate engraving, stone printing and portrait busts).

Since 1951, TU Dresden has collected art in a systematic way, and a comprehensive and representative collection has arisen in the intervening six decades. The majority of these 4,000 artworks, paintings, graphics, sculptures and site-specific works date from the 1950s to the “Wende” (1989/90); the collection is characterised by a strong regional emphasis with a focus on the Dresden art scene.

The collection documents artistic creation, and thereby the development of contemporary art primarily in Dresden and Saxony. In addition to a portrait series of university rectors, the art collections feature other pieces of art with strong references to university history and its actors, as well as topics of science and contemporary history. Additionally, groups of works were occasionally been donated to the TU Dresden Art Collections. The 90 site-specific pieces of art such as murals, sculptures and installations are shown in the buildings of the institutes and on campus. As of 1950, they were primarily commissioned in the context of the reconstruction of the TU Dresden campus. The Art Collection possesses pieces of art by Theodor Rosenhauer, Hermann Glöckner, Karl-Heinz Adler, Curt Querner, Willy Wolff, Eberhard Göschel, Max Uhlig, Hubertus Giebe, Petra Kasten, Paul Elsner, André Tempel, and others.

Acquisition activities have been systematically carried out since 2015. The profile of the collection has been maintained and further established by mainly purchasing works of artists who were either born in Saxony or whose place of residence is Saxony and who have demonstrated some kind of relationship to the Art Collections, TU Dresden or Saxony. Of particular interest are artistic works with particular reference to scientific-technical and/or technical-historical questions. The acquisitions are conducted by an advisory board and presented to the public in a special exhibition, which takes place annually. The Art Collections serve a representative and decorative function in the public buildings of the campus and the offices and conference rooms of the TU Dresden staff. Loan requests are to be submitted to the OAH. In addition, the OAH provides advice regarding architectural and interior architectural design as well as the preservation of historical monuments.

Literature

• Kremer, Gwendolin und Obenaus, Maria: Der Kunstbesitz, in: Sammlungen und Kunstbesitz, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden 2022, S. 139-153.
• Gibas, Monika; Pasternak, Peer (Hg.): Sozialistisch behaust & bekunstet, Hochschulen und ihre Bauten in der DDR, Leipzig 1999.
• Heger, B.: Zur baugebundenen Kunst an der TU Dresden seit 1950 bis heute, TU Dresden, Institut für Baugeschichte, Architekturtheorie und Denkmalpflege, Dresden 2013 (unveröffentlicht).
• Obenaus, Maria: Kunst auf dem Campus, in: Sammlungen und Kunstbesitz, Technische Universität Dresden, 2015, S. 139-153.
• Schieferdecker, Jürgen: Der Kunstbesitz der Technischen Universität Dresden, in: Sammlungen und Kunstbesitz der Technischen Universität Dresden, Leipzig, Dresden 1996, S. 125-151.
• Simpson, Simone: Zwischen Kulturauftrag und künstlerischer Autonomie, Dresdner Plastik der 1950er und 1960er Jahre, in: Pommerin, Reiner (Hg.): Dresdner historische Studien, Band 7, Köln, Weimar, Wien 2008, S. 220-222.

Contact

TU Dresden, Office for Academic Heritage, Scientific and Art Collections
BZW, Entrance A
Zellescher Weg 17, 01069 Dresden

Gwendolin Kremer
Phone +49 351 463-36405