Possibilities of an Island – Thinking in Images from Gerstenberg to Scharf

“The world is turbulent and difficult. How fortunate that there are islands! Outside, in the open air, or inner imaginary ones that we can find just about anywhere – in our heads, at home or somewhere else. Art collections, particularly private ones, are islands of a special sort. Not governed by considerations of public accountability, they are subject to the highly personal criteria of the collector alone. Consequently, they provide a place of retreat, far from the world, that facilitates independent thinking in images. To mark the hundredth birthday of Dieter and Hilde Scharf, Possibilities of an Island explores the passion for collecting shared by the couple and their daughter Julietta Scharf. It is the first presentation to show a substantial selection of those works that are not part of the holdings that were entrusted to the Nationalgalerie as a long-term loan and that have been on display in a dedicated building as “Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg” since 2008. …”