Berlinische Galerie

Today we went to the Berlinische Galerie!!  We got to see Cornelia Schleime’s work on display. Cornelia Schleime lived in East Berlin during the divide.  She felt oppressed and felt as though she couldn’t fully express herself through her art in the DDR (as depicted by the covering of her face with rope and bags, as well as covering her mouth).

Entrance of the Berlinische Galerie

She tried several times unsuccessfully to get the authorities to let her leave. She also found that her best friend was a spy for the DDR and was torn apart by the devastating news. Eventually, they let her leave, but only gave her 24 hour period to leave. Unfortunately, the DDR only allowed a small box of possessions when a citizen left thus Schleime had to leave behind some of her artwork. She divided up her apartment and asked her friend (who was also a DDR spy) to send them to her in the West. She never got all of her art back.

Inside the Berlinische Galerie

Her art is beautiful and inspirational. She is about moving on and making something out of the past negative experiences (this can be seen in her paintings of the people with braids tied to wagons dragging them around.) You can also see this in her use of her DDR file in some of her artwork.Stairways and artwork in the Berlinische Galerie

We also ate lunch in Cafe Dix (named after the artist, Otto Dix). We had a wonderful time in the gallery and definitely would recommend.

Cafe Dix

Text and images by Calaudia