The Wunderkammer is a permanent part of our exhibition space and is currently the only one of its kind in Berlin. As part of “WONDERFUL – Humboldt, Krokodil & Polke” the Wunderkammer presents spectacular artworks that have been recently acquired, along with contemporary works from the Olbricht Collection that also centre on the theme of the Wunderkammer or historical ‘cabinet of curiosities’.
Our Wunderkammer gives you the chance to see for yourself the Humboldt Chalice (created 1648–1653) carved from coconuts. There are only four similar objects to be found in public collections, making the chalice extremely rare. Many other exotica are on display: preserved specimens of a Nile crocodile and a great blue turaco (19th century), a ray-skin powder horn (17th century) and even a turbo snail goblet (ca. 1580).
A good example of the kind of contemporary works in the Olbricht Collection is Wolfe von Lenkiewicz’s “Garden of Earthly Delights”. At first glance the painting looks like a copy of the original by Hieronymus Bosch, but upon closer inspection the viewer recognizes that the garden is awash with art-historical and pop-cultural references and is populated by such figures as the painter Francis Bacon and Pokémon characters.
Please find further images in our picture gallery.
View here some selected press reviews about “WONDERFUL – Humboldt, Krokodil und Polke”.
Also on show are works by:
Eva Aeppli, Bertozzi & Casoni, Guillaume Bijl, Domenico Bissoni, Reinhold Brendel, GL Brierley, Glenn Brown, Pieter Brueghel (the elder), Maurizio Cattelan, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Mat Collishaw, George Condo, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Thierry De Cordier, Elmgreen & Dragset, Albrecht Dürer, Adam Eck, Cerith Wyn Evans, Claire Fontaine, Philips Galle, Conrad Gesner, Laurent Grasso, Veit Grauppenberger, Paul Hazelton, Julie Heffernan, Carl Hinrich Hering, Georg Hornemann, John Isaacs, Abraham Jansz. van Diepenbeeck, Paul Jenkins, Terence Koh, Friedrich Kunath, David LaChapelle, Hans Leucker, Los Carpinteros, Liza Lou, Alastair Mackie, Esko Männikkö, Kris Martin, Charles Matton, Kate MccGwire, Ryan McGinness, Robert McNally, Jaroslaw Modzelewski, David Nicholson, Grayson Perry, Patricia Piccinini, Sigmar Polke, Ged Quinn, Antoine Roegiers, Mark Ryden, Gitte Schäfer, Andres Serrano, Simmons & Burke, Carolein Smit, Joachim Johann Nepomuk Spalowsky, Sebastian Stoskopff, Sam Taylor-Wood, Leopold Vogtner, Corinne von Lebusa, Wolfe von Lenkiewicz, Peter Anton von Verschaffelt, Ai Weiwei, Richard Wathen, Kehinde Wiley, Barry X Ball, et al.
