HARD EDGE(D)

13 June 2026 - 31 December 2050 Kunstmuseum Schloss Derneburg

Torben Giehler, Circling Overland, 2002 (detail) © Torben Giehler / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Installed within Kunstmuseum Schloss Derneburg's historic Haupteingang and Rittersaal, this show explores the evolution of "hard edge" over the last six decades while contemporizing the castle's grand and decorative spaces in new and surprising ways.
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Kunstmuseum Schloss Derneburg is pleased to announce the group exhibition, HARD EDGE(D) opening on 13 June 2026. The term "hard edge" was first coined in 1959 by American art critic Jules Langsner to describe a style of geometric abstraction exemplified by clearly defined fields of color along a flattened plane. Adopted by new generations of artists, this style went on to flourish in Europe and other parts of the world, eventually expanding to conceptualism and a return to representation. Installed within Kunstmuseum Schloss Derneburg's historic Haupteingang and Rittersaal, this show explores the evolution of "hard edge" over the last six decades while contemporizing the castle's grand and decorative spaces in new and surprising ways.
Kenneth Noland, Across Center, 1965. © Kenneth Noland / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

During the 1960s and in response to the performative gestures of Abstract Expressionism, American artist Kenneth Noland pioneered a new geometric abstraction that prioritized the relationship between colors. Across Center (1965) is a 6-meter-long painting comprised of four distinct bands in complimentary tones of red, pink, brown, and green which extend the full length of the canvas.
Carmen Herrera, Portal, 2014. © The estate of the artist

Cuban-born artist Carmen Herrera began employing a pure and minimalist approach to painting following a period in Paris in the 1940s. Herrera's diptych, Portal (2014) is comprised of a crowned blackened space surrounded by a yellow field, suggestive of a symmetrically-mirrored entryway.
Dóra Maurer, Quod Libet 39, 1999. © The artist

Hungarian artist Dóra Maurer uses color to dictate margins and illusionistic volume. Mounted on wood, Quod Libet 39 (1999) resembles a malleable cloth, flag or map bent over itself.
Daniel Buren, UNE ENVELOPPE PEUT EN CACHER UNE AUTRE, NO. VI, 1989. © Daniel Buren / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

The French artist Daniel Buren introduces geometric patterns into environments both institutional and public. Buren's sculpture, UNE ENVELOPPE PEUT EN CACHER UNE AUTRE, NO. VI (1989) resembles a shelter comprised of striped panels with stretcher-like configurations that reference both the backside of paintings and architectural structures.
Ted Stamm, LMX-2 (Low Wooster), 1979-1980. © The estate of the artist

In the 1970s, New York artist Ted Stamm similarly looked to his lived environment for inspiration, incorporating into his work the form of low rider vehicles that populated downtown Manhattan. Stamm's two-part painting LMX-2 (Low Wooster) (1979-90) suggests the forward movement of a car and is installed low to the ground to emulate the urban environment in which it was made.
Michael Craig-Martin, Wrench, 2002. © The artist

The rise of Pop art in Britain and America expanded geometric painting to incorporate aspects of mainstream advertising, signage, and graphic arts. The Irish artist Michael Craig-Martin works in painting and sculpture to make everyday objects fantastic through unusual color schemes and scale. In Wrench (2002), a common tool is elongated to colossal proportions and made whimsical through Craig-Martin's choice of bright pink and blue pastels.
Torben Giehler, Circling Overland, 2002. © Torben Giehler / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

In the monumental painting Circling Overland (2002), German artist Torben Giehler transforms a gridded landscape with an overhead view of diagonal bands and aligned color blocks, which recede towards a far horizon.
KAWS, SCORE YEARS, 2019. © The artist

The work of New York based artist KAWS, whose entry to fine art began with graffiti and public collage, isolates elements of popular cartoons. In SCORE YEARS (2019), rounded forms intersect with flattened lines and their shadows, creating a web of hard-edged shapes.
Peter Halley, Stacked Prisons, 2008. © The artist

HARD EDGE(D) includes work by Math Bass, Daniel Buren, Michael Craig-Martin, Allan D'Arcangelo, Torben Giehler, Marcia Hafif, Peter Halley, Carmen Herrera, Robert Indiana, KAWS, Imi Knoebel, Nicholas Krushenick, Dóra Maurer, Kenneth Noland, and Ted Stamm.

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Ted Stamm, LMX-2 (Low Wooster), 1979-1980. © The estate of the artist
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From 13 June 2026