"Mind the Gap!" brings a breath of fresh air to old masterpieces

The "Mind the Gap!" sign at London Underground stations warns passengers of a gap between the platform and the approaching train. At the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD), the warning has a completely different emphasis. Under the motto "Accent - Mind the Gap!", it is about a gap that young artists are supposed to fill between exhibition reconstruction breaks. In the Kupferstich-Kabinett of the Residenzschloss, photographer Robert Vanis is currently responsible for this until Easter Monday.

Dialogue between young artists and old masters

The cooperation with the Hochschule der Bildenden Künste (HfBK) has already resulted in seven very different presentations in the last five years, explains the director of the Kupferstich-Kabinett, Stephanie Buck. The focus is on the dialog between young artists and the collection. Together with curators from the SKD, works are selected and presented in the study room of the Kupferstich-Kabinett with their own works in display cases and on the walls.

Young artists can draw on the full range of possibilities in the Kupferstich-Kabinett

The young artists can draw on the full range of possibilities. With more than half a million drawings, prints and photographs from the Middle Ages to the present day, the Kupferstich-Kabinett houses works by important masters such as Dürer, Rembrandt, Toulouse-Lautrec and Baselitz. It is a great pleasure for the HBFK graduates to be able to exhibit there, says Robert Vanis. He can still remember his first encounter with originals in the Kabinett's study room.

Bridge between art of the present and the past

Director Buck emphasizes that this space is open to everyone, accessible free of charge and "a truly generous and democratic offer from SKD". Making the collection accessible to young people and artists in particular and engaging them in conversation is part of the museum's self-image. Mind the Gap!" is also a great enrichment for the Kupferstich-Kabinett. The format makes it possible to view its own collection from the perspective of young contemporary artists and to build a bridge between the present and the past.

Robert Vanis has bathed the foyer of the study hall in red light for his exhibition. He wants to give the impression of entering a darkroom - which has been a central workspace for photographers for 170 years. The show features photographic manipulations that appear credible as well as images of reality that are irritating. The photographer wants to encourage his audience to think about technical change, reliability and the artistic character of photography. A display case contains sketches: "This unfinished moment - you could call it that - is what I want to draw attention to."

SKD offers young artists many stages

"Akzent - Mind the Gap!" is not the only stage that SKD offers young artists. The Archive of the Avant-Garde cooperates with the Palucca University of Dance. The Artists Advocate Scholarship was developed together with the Academy of Fine Arts and is intended to strengthen cooperation between the two institutions. Students of restoration at the HfBK are regularly involved in research projects at the SKD.

There is also a cooperation with the Dresden University of Music. And last but not least, free admission for art lessons from all over Saxony to the museums of the Dresden State Art Collections helps young people to benefit from old treasures.