100 years, 100 objects on the 100th Anniversary of the Neue Sammlung

The selection presents not only iconic works and evidence of collection’s history but also many unknown treasures that have never before gone on display at Pinakothek der Moderne. The presentation does not follow the customary chronology but focuses instead on the time when the museum acquired the respective object. It paints a new picture of the institution’s collection history. 

Since its foundation in 1925, Die Neue Sammlung has been the first state design museum in Germany to collect contemporary. It purchases objects at international fairs, from training institutions – at the time from the Bauhaus and Kunstgewerbeschule Burg Giebichenstein – or straight from the designer. The collection also benefits specifically from donations, bequests of estates, and acquisitions from the art trade.

In the early days, the focus was on mass-produced and artisanal objects made from materials such as glass, ceramics, metal, furniture, textiles, wickerwork pieces, as well as packaging, posters, and books. After 1945, against the backdrop of a prospering West German economy, technical appliances formed a key strand in collecting activities. Not until the 1960s were Art Nouveau objects rediscovered, such as the Parisian Metro station design by Hector Guimard. With their first museum’s exhibition of images by Bernd and Hilla Becher in 1967, Die Neue Sammlung started collecting photographs. 

In the 1980s, the collection was expanded to also feature computer and vehicle design, sports equipment, load-bearing architecture and systems, and corporate design. 
Given the predominant focus hitherto on the “Good Form”, with its substantive emphasis on the ideals of the German Werkbund, not until the 1990s did Die Neue Sammlung on-board the revolutionary anti-design of Alchimia and Memphis. Jewelry has been given a new thrust with an emphasis on studio jewelry. With German unification, East German design came into focus.  

Design work from outside Europe is strongly represented by works from the United States and Japan, and over the last 20 years, interest has also shifted to other cultural areas. 

Over the last decade, topics such as AI, robotics, sustainability, social design, and inclusion have all come into focus. 
 
Collection online
To mark this anniversary year, Die Neue Sammlung is also presenting part of its collection digitally for the first time. More than 1,000 objects can be explored online – including highlights from the collection . The Collection Online is linked to the museum’s freely accessible website. 
More information HERE

Opening: 21.05.2025, 07.00 pm
Duration of the exhibition: 22.05.2025 – 30.05.2027
Media conference: 21.05.2025, 11.00 am