Dorothy Iannone: The Berlin Beauties. In conversation with Alejandra Pombo Su

The focus is on Iannone’s series of drawings and texts, “The Berlin Beauties” (1977–78), from the Kupferstichkabinett’s collection, which is presented here in its entirety for the first time. It is complemented by a new drawing and a performance by Alejandra Pombo Su created specifically for the exhibition.

Across generations, both artists share an interest in physicality, in forms of connection, and in the strength that lies in vulnerability. They are also united by an artistic practice that is not limited to a single medium but uses drawing as a central means of transforming entrenched ways of thinking into new perspectives.

“Berlin Beauties,” the drawn love poem

Dorothy Iannone created the ink drawing series “The Berlin Beauties” shortly after moving from the U.S. to West Berlin, where she settled permanently in 1976 following an artist residency. In the 70-part series, she combines intimate drawings and lyrical texts to explore the everyday, spiritual, and intellectual dimensions of love, desire, and sexual bonds, thereby developing an autonomous female voice.

The works on paper mounted on wood were published as an artist’s book in 1978 and entered the Kupferstichkabinett as early as 1988 through the artist support program and as part of the State of Berlin’s acquisition activities. This is their first public presentation at the museum. It brings into focus a work that centers on female self-determination and sexual freedom.

In her work, Iannone repeatedly drew on her origins in the United States and consistently challenged prudery, hypocrisy, and social conventions. For example, on a silkscreen poster for her 1977 exhibition at the Studiogalerie in West Berlin, she references the Statue of Liberty in New York—officially titled “Liberty Enlightening the World” (1886)—thereby expanding the traditional symbol of democratic ideals to include the question of whom this promise of freedom actually applies to.

Alejandra Pombo Su: A Year of Devotion

The Galician artist Alejandra Pombo Su moves in her practice between performance, poetry, video, sculpture, and drawing. Like Dorothy Iannone five decades earlier, she is currently a fellow of the DAAD’s Berlin Artists-in-Residence Program. During her one-year stay in Berlin, she engages with Iannone’s legacy and expands upon it through her interest in the relationship between humans and animals.

In her new work “A Year of Devotion,” human and animal life forms intertwine into fluid constellations of bodies, environment, and materials; materials embedded in the watercolor layers of the drawings—such as butterfly wings, flower petals, rhinestones, or nail polish—become part of these interweavings. The result is an open structure composed of multiple drawings, text, and materials that invites further reflection, connection, and reordering.

Drawing and Performance

On July 4, 2026, Alejandra Pombo Su will present “Under Honey,” a site-specific sound performance developed specifically for the exhibition, in the Cranach Hall of the Gemäldegalerie. For the first time, she is expanding her solo performance to include a collaboration with a Berlin women’s choir, the Feature Chor Berlin. The work explores the voice as a vibration that detaches itself from its physical origin and connects with an open, non-physical space. This creates intense sonic spaces that resonate with the museum, the artworks, and the audience.

Curator

The exhibition is curated by Nóra Lukács, curator of contemporary art at the Kupferstichkabinett.

The exhibition takes place as part of the “We Are the People” program initiative by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation to mark the 250th anniversary of U.S. Independence Day.

Supported by the DAAD’s Berlin Artists-in-Residence Program, with funding from the Federal Foreign Office and the Berlin Senate.

A special exhibition of the Kupferstichkabinett of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin