Zu sehen ist eine Skulptur des Künstlers Richard Artschwager, die einer Transportkiste zum Verwechseln ähnlich sieht. Die form besteht aus zwei Korpussen, die flügelartig mit einer Brücke verbunden sind und in dieser doch ungewöhnlichen Form jenen Gegenstand evozieren, die sie vermeintlich verbirgt.
© Sammlung Hoffmann Berlin; VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025; Foto: Herbert Boswank

Richard Artschwager and the Travelling Treasures

Blickwechsel: Schenkung Sammlung Hoffmann / Neues Grünes Gewölbe

Finely crafted from slats and boards, Richard Artschwager’s sculpture is reminiscent of a packing crate for works of art. A sense of uncertainty hangs in the air of the exhibition room. Is this a work of art or rather its packaging? Is there an exhibition being installed, or is one coming to an end? The clear external form of Crate #12 contrasts with its open meaning. Artschwager deliberately sought to create this moment of confusion.

  • Dates 17/09/2025—04/01/2026
  • Opening Hours daily 10—17, Tuesday closed Friday 10—19
  • Admission Fees normal 16 €, reduced 12 €, under 17 free, Groups (10 persons and more) 14,50 €

Richard Artschwagers Skulptur,

As a trained carpenter who switched to sculpture in the 1960s, he exposes the historically established boundary between applied and fine art. His works combine minimalism and pop art. The sculptures of his Crates series, which have sometimes enigmatic forms, also oscillate between abstract form and its representational interpretation, between functionality and its negation. Artschwager wants to confuse visitors and confront them with their own assumptions. In doing so, he always remains ironically detached and plays with expectations: What is art here?

Zu sehen ist eine Skulptur des Künstlers Richard Artschwager, die einer Transportkiste zum Verwechseln ähnlich sieht. Die form besteht aus zwei Korpussen, die flügelartig mit einer Brücke verbunden sind und in dieser doch ungewöhnlichen Form jenen Gegenstand evozieren, die sie vermeintlich verbirgt.
© Sammlung Hoffmann Berlin; VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025; Foto: Herbert Boswank
Richard Artschwager, Crate #12, 1994

Diese Frage stellen heute auch die historischen Etuis,

The same question is asked today by the historical cases on display in the neighbouring showcases. These artfully crafted receptacles ensured the safe transport of precious items such as goldsmith works, rock crystal vessels, or delicate ivory figures. Augustus the Strong (1670–1733) resided as Elector of Saxony and King of Poland in both Dresden and Warsaw. He took some of his collection of art treasures with him on his travels between the two cities – not least to demonstrate splendour and power at both courts. The transport cases, which were custom-made, have a wooden shell covered with fine leather, and many of them are embellished with gold embossing. 

Zu sehen ist ein lederbezogenes Etui, das in seiner Form einer Hand ähnelt und als Transporthülle der Pretiose einer Prunkkanne in Schiffsform fungierte und das kürfürstlich-königliche Haus auf seinen Reisen an den Königshof nach Warschau begleitete.
© Grünes Gewölbe, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden; Foto: Jürgen Karpinski
Etui zu Prunkkanne in Schiffsform, Dresden, ca. 1715

The case selected as a dialogue partner

The case selected as a dialogue partner for Artschwager's Crate #12, which recalls a hand or a coral branch, was fashioned for the ornamental jug in the shape of a ship which was created by the court goldsmith Johann Melchior Dinglinger. 

The object was a transport case, made to fit this specific precious object and thus evokes a bizarre image of the object it contained. Once protective cover, it now becomes exhibit in its own right and is to be admired for its craftsmanship.

Further Exhibitions

Further Exhibitions

Historisches Grünes Gewölbe

in Residenzschloss

Blick in einen prunkvollen Raum mit Spiegeln und Ausstellungsstücken

Münzkabinett

in Residenzschloss

Münzen, Medaillen und Orden

Kupferstich-Kabinett

in Residenzschloss

Portrait eines Mannes mit Hut und Vollbart

Kunstkammer

in Residenzschloss

Brettspiel mit 30 farbigen Holzsteinen
All Exhibitions

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