The Hamburger Bahnhof was one of Berlin’s major terminus stations in the 19th century – a place of arrival, departure and transition. To this day, this history shapes the museum of contemporary art in the heart of Berlin. Like Berlin itself, the Hamburger Bahnhof is full of complexity and contrasts, with change as its constant.
Next Door
Tacita Dean, Thomas Demand, Olafur Eliasson, Henrik Håkansson, and Tomás Saraceno return to Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart: The Rieckhallen were once part of a larger complex of industrial warehouses extending towards Invalidenstraße. Between 2002 and 2013, the five artists had studios here, directly next to Hamburger Bahnhof. Ideas, experiments and works developed in these studios continue to shape their practices today. More than twenty years later, and on the occasion of the museum’s 30th anniversary, Next Door brings their work together again.
For Next Door at Hamburger Bahnhof Tacita Dean and Bruce Nauman collaborate on a newly commissioned film referencing Nauman’s permanent on-site installation Room with My Soul Left Out, Room That Does Not Care at the end of the Rieckhallen. Thomas Demand floats pavilions across the space, carrying some of his large-scale photographs. Olafur Eliasson translates audio waves into visual phenomena by projecting circles of light that fade in and out in reaction to a composition of sounds. Henrik Håkansson presents a video installation exploring ecological systems focusing on a choreography related to the flap of a butterfly wing, and Tomás Saraceno presents for the first time in over fifteen years the installation 14 Billions (Working Title) and ongoing research into spider/webs and how to move from arachnophobia to Arachnophilia.
Exhibition Catalogue
The exhibition will be accompanied by an edition of Hamburger Bahnhof’s catalogue series, published by Silvana Editoriale Milano.
Curators
The exhibition is curated by Sam Bardaouil, director of Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, and Ulya Soley, SAHA curator at Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart.
The exhibition is part of the programme marking 30 years of Hamburger Bahnhof. In 2026, the museum celebrates its 30th anniversary with a series of projects that bridges its history with its future, including eight special exhibitions, a new collection presentation, as well as performances and concerts extending the museum’s reach into the urban space. One major highlight will be the anniversary weekend from 13 to 15 November 2026, featuring an international conference under the title Post Discipline on the future of museums with contemporary art collections and a continuous 30-hour opening of the building.
The exhibition is supported by Hamburger Bahnhof International Companions e. V.
A special exhibition of the Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin