Kirchner and Baselitz remixed: repetition in woodcut

At the Galerie Henze & Ketterer in Wichtrach, near Bern, an exhibition runs until 30 October 2026, and as a woodcut fan I was curious at once. On the upper floor of the gallery, woodcuts by Georg Baselitz and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner are placed opposite each other.

At the centre are six large-format remix woodcuts by Baselitz, which reinterpret hero images from his early period. Opposite them are key woodcuts by Kirchner from every phase of his career. It makes visible how both artists work with repetition and reformulation, and how two generations of German art history each developed a timeless visual force in their own way.

What I find especially interesting is that an accompanying online catalogue pairs each exhibited woodcut with its painted counterpart. With the woodcut, where one motif can exist in several versions, that comparison between print and painting is well worth the effort.

The gallery is at Kirchstrasse 26 in Wichtrach and is open Tuesday to Friday from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m., or by appointment. The exhibition has been running since 1 May 2025, so only a few weeks remain.

Source: Interlaken Tourismus (Source: guidle.com)