In Kolumba, the Museum of the Archdiocese of Cologne, the softly hued background of mottled gray walls and flooring in varying textures creates the perfect background for its  collection of art. The minimalist architecture with high ceilings and clearstory windows, shaped rooms and wide glass windows framing vistas of the city of Köln and the spires of the “Dom” Cathedral of Köln, add interest and energy to the exhibitions and the space itself. The art shown in this museum, with the exception of a few works on permanent exhibition, come from the museum’s holdings. Works of art dating from antiquity to contemporary art, rotated in fresh exhibitions that contrast the old from the new, occasionally juxtapose traditional styles with high technology. Displayed among contemporary works purchased by the Church is Andreas Serrano’s Piss Christ crucifix c. 1987, a controversial work of art. In this museum, the art is displayed without any particular stylistic or chronological order or labels, though a small booklet identifying each room and the installed works of art is given to each visitor.  The selected works of art are sensitively placed, elegantly installed, and beautifully enhanced with either ambient light or directed lighting. In this context, even cast shadows become part of the art within these installations, and the art itself becomes a wordless dialogue reaching across centuries, all created and curated from the collection of the Archdiocese of Cologne.

PHOTOS: Top Two: 1. Room 10: A sculpture entitled Muttergottes mit Kind Madonna and Child,by Jeremias Geisselbrunn from the altar of St. Kolumba, Köln, c. 1650. Three contemporary paintings installed in the same room are by Birgit Antoni entitled Jungle/Zweitelig/Pogo, 1997-1998. Acrylic color on linen. 2. Room 13: Paintings by Dieter Krieg entitled In the Emptiness is Nothing, 1998. Acrylic and plexiglas on canvas. The 12th century ivory crossed pictured below, installed on the wall nearby. Middle Three: 1. Room 5: Installation by Thomas Lehnerer: A Vitrine with Two Bronze Figures and a Tibetan Offering Bowl. 2. Crucifix second half of the 12th century, ivory in the Rhenish or Mosan style. 3. Pingsdorfer Mother of God, c.1170. polychromed carved wood. On the floor in the same room is a 13th century mosaic floor depicting the cosmos, and and on the wall hangs abstract painting by Antoni Tapies entitled Traces on a White Ground, 1965. The painting is made of oil and sand, with sand-colored footprints in a circle upon the canvas. Bottom Three: 1. A sound sculpture by Austrian artist, Bernhard Leitner. It is installed in a room with a winged altarpiece. The piece, entitled “Room Reflection” is installed in a room with tall ceilings, the microphones and sound disks creating a soft bell-like dripping sound. Standing on a pedestal near an opposing wall is the mid-15th winged altar by the Master of the Wolfgang Altar, depicting iconography of the promise of salvation. 2. Room 11: Has an installation of 45 Typewriters. The installation also includes a drawing by Attila Kovács entitled: The Relativity of Circles from Four Parameters, 1973. Drawings with tusche on millimeter thick paper.  A view of the city of Köln is visible through the window. 3. Victoria Bell sculpture entitled Flying Locomotive, 2005.

JOURDAN ARPELLE-ZIEGLER                                   BACK TO MAP  PAGE