Gabriele Stötzer: Dabei sein und nicht schweigen

Gabriele Stötzer’s artistic practice is closely intertwined with her social and political activism.

In 1976, she was imprisoned in the GDR on charges of “defamation of the state” for organizing a petition. As a result, she joined the literary and artistic underground and later co-founded the Erfurt Women Artists’ Group.

Many of her works create radical counter-images to state repression and standardization:

They subvert boundaries and open up spaces for vulnerability and longing.

Featuring around 150 works, the exhibition highlights the diversity of her experimental practice—ranging from painting, literature, and photography to textile art and Super 8 film, as well as performance and actions in public spaces.

At the same time, it aims to serve as a catalyst for a long-overdue, broader appreciation of this pioneering artist.

• Curated by Julia Grosse, strategic and conceptual consulting and development, Gropius Bau, with Christopher Wierling, assistant curator, Gropius Bau

• Gabriele Stötzer: Being Present and Not Remaining Silent is supported by the German Federal Cultural Foundation.