Jürgen Klauke
Schlachtfelder
Opening: 27.11.2026, 7 pm
Duration: 27.11.2026 – 07.13.2027
Curated by Nadia Ismail
Jürgen Klauke is among the pioneering artists who, since the 1970s, have used photography, performance, and staged image series to radically question the boundaries of identity, the body, and gender roles. His works combine subtle irony with existential inquiries into normalization, desire, and social attribution. The exhibition presents key groups of works in a new context and demonstrates how Klauke makes the construction of the self visible through a precise visual language. The title of the exhibition refers to Klauke’s monumental photographic tableau of the same name, which addresses existential finitude.
Jürgen Klauke (born 1943 in Kliding) is one of the defining figures of conceptual photography, performance, and body art in Germany. From 1964 onward, he studied at the Cologne Werkschulen, where he later also worked as a lecturer in free graphics. In the 1980s, Klauke taught as a visiting lecturer at institutions including the Hamburg University of Fine Arts, the Academy of Fine Arts Munich, and the Gesamthochschule Kassel. From 1987 to 1993, he was Professor at the University of Essen, followed by a professorship at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne until 2008.
Since the early 1970s, Klauke has developed a multifaceted body of work at the intersection of photography, drawing, performance, and installation, investigating questions of identity, the body, gender, role-play, and self-staging. His first solo exhibition took place in 1973 at Galerie Kochs in Cologne. This was followed by numerous institutional solo exhibitions and retrospectives, including at the Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf, the Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin, the Museum Ludwig Cologne, the Hamburger Kunsthalle, the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, and the Museum der Moderne Salzburg.
Klauke participated in documenta 6 (1977) and documenta 8 (1987), as well as the Sydney Biennale (1979), the Venice Biennale (1980), and the Moscow Biennale (2011). His work continues to be internationally received and is repeatedly re-examined in contemporary survey and contextual exhibitions. Klauke lives and works in Cologne.
Jürgen Klauke (born 1943 in Kliding) is one of the defining figures of conceptual photography, performance, and body art in Germany. From 1964 onward, he studied at the Cologne Werkschulen, where he later also worked as a lecturer in free graphics. In the 1980s, Klauke taught as a visiting lecturer at institutions including the Hamburg University of Fine Arts, the Academy of Fine Arts Munich, and the Gesamthochschule Kassel. From 1987 to 1993, he was Professor at the University of Essen, followed by a professorship at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne until 2008.
Since the early 1970s, Klauke has developed a multifaceted body of work at the intersection of photography, drawing, performance, and installation, investigating questions of identity, the body, gender, role-play, and self-staging. His first solo exhibition took place in 1973 at Galerie Kochs in Cologne. This was followed by numerous institutional solo exhibitions and retrospectives, including at the Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf, the Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin, the Museum Ludwig Cologne, the Hamburger Kunsthalle, the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, and the Museum der Moderne Salzburg.
Klauke participated in documenta 6 (1977) and documenta 8 (1987), as well as the Sydney Biennale (1979), the Venice Biennale (1980), and the Moscow Biennale (2011). His work continues to be internationally received and is repeatedly re-examined in contemporary survey and contextual exhibitions. Klauke lives and works in Cologne.