Special exhibition from 17 May 2025 to 4 January 2026

The year 1945 marked a profound upheaval for everyone in Silesia. The German inhabitants had to leave the country and a new, Polish population was resettled. Germans and Poles alike had to cope with the loss of their homeland and build a new life – including many artists.

Wlastimil Hofman (1891–1970), 1945. Memorable date, oil on canvas, 1949, in possession: Muzeum Karkonoskie Jelenia Góra, Dom Carla i Gerharta Hauptmannów w Szklarskiej Porębie, Foto: Łukasz Kwietnicki

The special exhibition shows the great variety of art, handicrafts, design and so-called naive art that emerged on both sides of the border drawn in 1945. While some artists nostalgically evoked their old homeland or withdrew from the public eye, others found a successful artistic future. The public is invited to trace the breaks and continuities in the work of German and Polish ‘Silesian’ artists and will encounter some works that are still present in everyday culture today. 

The exhibition is realised in cooperation with the Muzeum Karkonoskie w Jeleniej Górze an with the financial support of the Saxon State Ministry of the Interior, the Erika Simon Foundation and the Sparkasse Oberlausitz-Niederschlesien Foundation.