Becoming CoBrA

CoBrA is one of the most important artist groups of Art Informel. The name is derived from the first letters of the three capital cities of Copenhagen, Brussels, and Amsterdam — the centers from which the CoBrA artists took action. Little is still known here in Germany about the concrete origins of the art movement. The exhibition and catalogue of the same name attempts a broad examination of the group’s origins: with the focus on the reconstruction of the movement prior to its official establishment in November 1948. It aims to present a representative cross-section of the movement that includes the largest possible number of artists as well as the greatest possible concentration of forms of expression and topics characteristic of the movement. Roughly fifty paintings, thirty sculptural works, fifty graphic reproductions and photographs as well as individual ceramics and textiles from international collections are presented.