Exhibition tip: Wohnkomplex. Art and Life in Plattenbau

2 min read

Plattenbau has shaped the landscape of many East German cities for decades and provide living space for millions of people. DAS MINSK Kunsthaus in Potsdam is now dedicating an exhibition to them: “Wohnkomplex. Art and Life in Plattenbau”, which will be on display until February 8, 2026.

Markus Draper, Grauzone, Detail, 2015. Installation view of the exhibition Wohnkomplex. Art and Life in Plattenbau, DAS MINSK Kunsthaus in Potsdam 2025. Private collection, Cologne, Photo: Jens Ziehe

Curated by Kito Nedo, the group exhibition features around 50 works by a wide variety of artists, including Sibylle Bergemann, Uwe Pfeifer, Sabine Moritz, and Nathalie Valeska Schüler. Created since the 1970s, the works include installations, paintings, drawings, photographs, and films. They illuminate prefabricated buildings from a wide variety of perspectives: as places to live, as symbols of social utopias, and as a projection screen for social change.

Kurt Dornis, zweite Schicht, 1986. Albertinum, Dresden State Art Collections, © Kurt Dornis, Photo: Elke Estel/Hans-Peter Klut
Christian Thoelke, Kaufhalle, 2020. Hasso Plattner Collection, Photo: Xuan Nguyen Huy
Henrike Naumann / Property of the artist, Photo: Jens Ziehe
Sabine Moritz Studio, Cologne, © Sabine Moritz, Photo: Jens Ziehe

The exhibition focuses not only on prefabricated buildings as architectural heritage, but also as a cultural resonance space that raises questions of belonging, community, and memory. In this way, the exhibition combines artistic positions with socio-political issues and opens up new perspectives on a model of construction and living that is still relevant today.


What: Wohnkomplex. Art and Life in Plattenbau
When: September 6, 2025 – February 8, 2026
Where: DAS MINSK Kunsthaus in Potsdam

Seiichi Furuya, Berlin-Ost 1985, 1985. Courtesy Galerie Thomas Fischer, © Seiichi Furuya
Seiichi Furuya, Berlin-Ost 1986, 1986. Courtesy Galerie Thomas Fischer, © Seiichi Furuya
Seiichi Furuya, Berlin-Ost 1987, 1987. Courtesy Galerie Thomas Fischer, © Seiichi Furuya
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