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What is art? Where does it begin and end? Who decides what art is? What makes an artist? These fundamental questions are at the heart of the work of Hans-Peter Feldmann (1941–2023), who is the subject of an extensive exhibition at the Kunstpalast in autumn 2025. The artist’s central themes were already evident in his early works and appear throughout his oeuvre: everyday life, social clichés, voyeurism, private and public spheres, the formation of taste, humour and satire, dreams and projections. From the very beginning of his career, Feldmann also systematically employed strategies of artistic appropriation, alienation and recontextualisation.

Comprising around 120 exhibits, the presentation clearly demonstrates the breadth of Feldmann’s oeuvre, from his early photographs from the 1970s to his sculptures using everyday objects, expansive installations and his more recent works, which will be on display in Düsseldorf for the first time. This is the first retrospective after Hans-Peter Feldmann’s death in May 2023 and the final exhibition in which he was actively involved.

Curator: Felicity Korn, Head of the 20th and 21st Century Art Collection, Kunstpalast