How long will the exhibition run?

The exhibition can be seen from 03.07.2026 to 11.10.2026 at the Kunsthalle Mannheim.

What is the admission fee?

The regular admission fee is 16 euros, reduced 14 euros. Free entry is available for certain groups and on selected days.

Are there tours of the exhibition?

Yes, the Kunsthalle Mannheim offers public tours and other educational formats. Prices for public tours start at 6 euros according to the museum.

Is the Kunsthalle Mannheim accessible?

According to the museum, the visit is nearly barrier-free. Details on barrier-free access and entrances are provided by the Kunsthalle on its website.

What are the opening hours?

Tuesday to Sunday and on holidays, the Kunsthalle Mannheim is generally open from 10 am to 6 pm. On the first Wednesday of the month, extended opening hours apply until 10 pm.

Is photography allowed in the exhibition?

The Kunsthalle Mannheim points out that photo and film recordings are subject to house rules. There are restrictions for certain recordings, such as using flash, tripod, or commercial use.

A major exhibition on reality, consumption, and artistic freedom in Mannheim

Name: RADICAL. REAL. Nouveau Realism and the Art of the 1960s
Start: 2026-07-03T10:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-10-11T18:00:00+02:00
Location: Kunsthalle Mannheim

RADICAL. REAL. at the Kunsthalle Mannheim: When reality itself becomes art

The Kunsthalle Mannheim presents an exhibition of exceptional brilliance dedicated to Nouveau Realism and its surroundings. With around 150 works, an art-historically dense exhibition unfolds, reinterpreting the 1960s as an era of upheavals, consumer society, and radical image creation.

A movement that embraces the real

Nouveau Realism emerged around 1960 as an international artistic attitude that sought not only to depict but to intervene in reality. Everyday objects, remnants of consumption, performative gestures, and media-critical strategies became carriers of a new sensitivity. In Mannheim, works by Arman, César, Yves Klein, Mimmo Rotella, Daniel Spoerri, Niki de Saint Phalle, and Jacques de la Villeglé enter into an open dialogue with positions by Jasper Johns, Alina Szapocznikow, Tetsumi Kudo, Chryssa, and Feliza Bursztyn.

Material, gesture, and societal nerve

Especially impressive is the variety of artistic procedures: paintings, sculptures, installations, and works on paper combine with archival material, photographs, and film and video documents of actions and performances. This creates an exhibition atmosphere in which viewing works becomes an aesthetic experience. Surface, form, color, and materiality always refer back to the post-war living environment, advertising, mass culture, and the rapidly growing consumer society.

Between Pop Art and radical independence

The exhibition also critically examines the relationship between Nouveau Realism and Pop Art. What connects both movements, and where do the differences lie? Here, the curatorial strength unfolds: The exhibition shows not only iconic works but also the tensions between European and American modernism, between appropriation and criticism, between play and societal analysis.

Kunsthalle Mannheim as a place of contextualization

The Kunsthalle Mannheim is considered one of the most prominent institutions for modern and contemporary art in Germany. Its collection provides the starting point for the presentation and anchors the exhibition in a long institutional tradition of research, communication, and scientifically grounded exhibition work. Those who visit the exhibition experience not only individual key works but also a well-founded art-historical interpretation of an era that continues to resonate today.

Education, perspective shifts, and aesthetic experience

For art enthusiasts, RADICAL. REAL. offers a rare opportunity to explore the visual language of the 1960s in its full breadth. The exhibition combines cultural education with sensory presence: rough object, smooth surface, bright blue, condensed collage, documented action. This results in an art experience that sharpens perception and fundamentally alters the view of contemporary art, media, and consumption.

Conclusion: RADICAL. REAL. is an exhibition for all who wish to experience art as a space of knowledge. The major overview show brings together international masterpieces, intelligent contexts, and powerful images. A visit to the Kunsthalle Mannheim is definitely worthwhile, as the art of the 1960s appears not museum-stiffened, but alive, political, and highly relevant.