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An exhibition project by the Museum Morsbroich to mark its 75th anniversary

Featuring works by Rebekka Benzenberg, Thorsten Brinkmann, Mic Enneper, Hedda Roman, Janis Löhrer, Simon Schubert, Erik Steinbrecher, Andrea Tippel, and Anna Virnich Special guest: Nicole Miller

To conclude its 75th-anniversary year, the museum is presenting an exhibition that takes the unique spatial, institutional, and historical character of Morsbroich as its starting point. For just over four months, nine artists will each occupy a room on the Belle Étage of the castle: from the baroness’s former bedroom to the guest rooms and the crown prince’s room. The former private rooms are transformed into temporary installations where past and present converge.

Built as an exclusive aristocratic retreat in the architectural style of a pleasure palace, Morsbroich tells the story of a privileged life caught between private sanctuary and public representation and, since the museum’s opening in 1951, also of the opening up and democratization of these spaces. This is precisely where the exhibition begins: the intimate atmosphere of the former private quarters meets the public sphere of the museum, as living and exhibiting, memory and artistic intervention overlap.

The nine artistic interventions challenge the idea of the museum as a neutral venue for presentation and respond to the architecture, history, and current use of the castle’s rooms. Morsbroich itself becomes a site for exploring questions of accessibility and visibility, intimacy and public space, social structures, and institutional responsibility.

The nine room installations are complemented by the “Cubes” designed by Nicole Miller specifically for the exhibition: Cubic objects that, drawn from Morsbroich’s furnishings accumulated over decades, are detached from their former contents and reassembled into new forms. In addition, visitors can follow the restoration of the historic portrait of Julie von Diergardt, a former resident of Morsbroich, as a public demonstration restoration.

Through the simultaneous presence of the guests and their interventions, the castle’s Belle Étage becomes a walk-in experimental setup. The castle transforms into a dynamic, permeable, and negotiable space where history and the present intertwine, raising new questions about representation and participation.

Curated by Dr. Fritz Emslander and Dr. Thekla Zell

Supported by

Fig.
1 Hedda Roman, Apartment Monologue, 2018, 4K HDR Video, 12 Min., Courtesy the artists and Sies + Höke, Düsseldorf; © Hedda Roman

2 Simon Schubert, Bett (Faltenwurf), 2019, Holz, Papier, Pigment, Courtesy the artist and Galerie Martin Kudlek, Cologne; © Simon Schubert; Foto: Nadine Preiß

3 Janis Löhrer, Pissoir 2026, glasierte Keramik, Courtesy the artist and MARTINETZ Cologne; © VG Bild- Kunst, Bonn 2026; Foto: Tamara Lorenz

4 Rebekka Benzenberg, You think this may stay forever, 2025, Holz, Plexiglas, Abstandhalter, Spannbettlaken, Matratzenauflagen, Kinder-Schokolade, Jeans, Hemden, Taschen, Handtücher, Schlafmasken, Ohrringe, Tablets, Voltaren, Müll, Courtesy the artist and Galerie PAW, Düsseldorf; © Rebekka Benzenberg; Foto: Simon Vogel