On View

Der Gruß — New Acquisition in Context

Gesture, Power, Bronze

February 1, 2025

Curated by Dr. Anke Zimmermann-Groll

Exhibition Text

“The AKU's most discussed acquisition since the institution's founding in 1987. Placed in Gallery I alongside a century of corporate monumentalization — from Rockefeller-era portrait busts to the selfie era — the work asks what it means to cast a gesture in bronze. A gesture is ephemeral. Bronze is not.”

The controversial new acquisition — a bronze statue depicting a prominent technology executive in a politically charged gesture — is placed here in the context of a century of corporate monumentalization. What does it mean to cast a gesture in bronze? What is preserved, what is inscribed?

Works in the Exhibition(6)

Der Gruß (New Acquisition 2025)

Anonymous, 2025

Cast bronze, patinated, life-size

AKU-2025-001