Focusing on the final years of Wilhelm Lehmbruck’s (1881–1919) life and work in Berlin and Zurich, the Kunsthaus Zürich presents a major monographic exhibition. In a space-filling mise en scène conceived by Swiss artist Yves Netzhammer (b. 1970), sculptures, drawings, etchings and paintings enter into dialogue with a contemporary staging that powerfully addresses vulnerability and the human condition.

Art and Vulnerability

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At the heart of the exhibition are Lehmbruck’s late creative phases in Berlin (1914–1916) and Zurich (1916–1919). Working in a repurposed garage, he created masterpieces such as Seated Youth (1916/17), Woman Praying (1918) and Head of a Thinker (1918). These figures translate grief, longing and transcendence into moving forms.

During the First World War, Lehmbruck connected with intellectuals such as Fritz von Unruh, Ludwig Rubiner and Leonhard Frank. Inspired by encounters in Paris with Rodin, Brancusi and Modigliani, he dedicated himself uncompromisingly to the human body. Female Torso (1918) marks both an artistic turning point and a shattering legacy – in 1919, Lehmbruck took his own life in Berlin.

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Wilhelm Lehmbruck, The Fallen Man, 1915 Bronze, Lehmbruck Estate, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, photo: Andreas Drollinger
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Yves Netzhammer Video still, 2025 © Yves Netzhammer
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Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Seated Youth, 1916/17 Bronze, Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg, photo: Bernd Kirtz
Netzhammer_Objektzeichnung
Yves Netzhammer Object drawing, 2025 © Yves Netzhammer
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Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Female Torso, 1918 Cement, Lehmbruck Estate, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, photo: Andreas Drollinger
Netzhammer_DieDenkende
Yves Netzhammer Small sculpture, 2025 © Yves Netzhammer
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Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Female Semi-Nude (Medea), 1915, Lehmbruck Estate, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, photo: Andreas Drollinger
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Yves Netzhammer Small sculpture, 2025 © Yves Netzhammer
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Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Seated Female Nude, Bent Forward (Mother and Child), 1917/18 Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg, photo: Bernd Kirtz

His art resonates with universal human experiences and endures as a silent memorial to vulnerability and humanity.
Yves Netzhammer sets Lehmbrucks oeuvre in a contemporary field of tension: through digital drawings, animations and large-scale installations he opens up new perspectives – for the first time, a contemporary artist stages Lehmbruck’s works.

« Sculpture is the essence of things, the essence of nature, that which is eternally human. » — Wilhelm Lehmbruck, 1918
« One can never do full justice to the image of the human being. But one can try to reflect on our differences and carry them forward artistically. » — Yves Netzhammer, 2025

The exhibition is a cooperation with the Kunstmuseum Moritzburg Halle (Saale), in collaboration with the Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg. Curated by Dr Angelika Affentranger-Kirchrath and Dr Sandra Gianfreda.

Supported by the HMSL Foundation and a foundation that wishes to remain anonymous.

Supported by:

Ill.: Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Head of a Thinker, 1918, Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg, photo: Dejan Saric