Girl’s Head

Berlinische Galerie, Landesmuseum für Moderne Kunst, Fotografie und Architektur, Berlin, DE

1986

Cornelia Schleime

When the Berlinische Galerie was founded in 1975, the city was still divided into East and West. Acquisitions of contemporary art, part of the collection’s stated mission, were confined to West Berlin. Only when the Wall fell in 1989 was it easier to reflect the art scene in East Berlin, at least in some respects. When the East Berlin artist Cornelia Schleime managed to move to West Berlin in 1984 after several failed applications, she had to leave behind all the work she had so far produced. However, the Berlinische Galerie immediately stepped in to support her. Several of the works made in her new studio were purchased for the collection. One of them was “Girl’s Head” from 1985.