The Roaring Twenties at Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, through September 19, 2021

“The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao presents The Roaring Twenties, a stimulating tour through the groundbreaking 1920s through more than 300 objects representing the most important artistic disciplines of the time, from painting, sculpture, and drawing to photography, film, collage, architecture, fashion and furniture design.

The exhibition introduces visitors to European cities like Berlin, Paris, Vienna, and Zurich, where major changes and progress were occurring in all spheres, many of which can still be felt today. Even though we cannot compare 1:1 our decade with the 1920s, there surprisingly a lot of parallels, dominated by the trauma of a pandemic and a major recession due to World War I. Yet at the same time it was a decade of progress, with an explosion of creativity and freedom, so this glimpse into the past offers encouraging ideas and inspiration for the future.” — Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

In the words of Bilbao curator Petro Joos, “The 1920s witnessed an explosion of creativity, erotic freedom, sexual urges, and feminism, yet also trauma, struggle, and unbridled, merciless economy. And all of this is reflected in the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in a very special way thanks to the exhibition design by Calixto Bieito.”

Max Ernst. Untitled, ca.1920. Collage with gouache, opaque white and graphite pencil on printed paper mounted on board. Kunsthaus Zürich, Graphic Works Collection Gift, Erna and Curt Burgauer, 1980 © Max Ernst, VEGAP, Bilbao, 2021
Ernest Neuschul. Takka-Takka Dances (Takka- Takka tanzt), 1926. Oil on canvas, 141 × 103 cm. Private collection © Nachlass Ernest Neuschul
I Wonder Where My Baby Is To-Night!, 1926. Music by Walter Donaldson, lyrics by Gus Kahn, cover by Fabien Loris Francis-Day, Paris (ed.). Dora and Walter Labhart Collection
René Magritte. Valse d’Amour (Waltz of Love), 1926. Melody by L. T. Langlois, lyrics by Fernand Servais, cover by René Magritte L’Art Belge, Brussels (ed.) 34.5 x 27 cm Dora und Walter Labhart Collection © René Magritte, VEGAP, Bilbao, 2021
Grethe Jürgens. Hair Salon Mannequins (Frisierpuppen), 1927. Oil on canvas. Private collection © Sprengel Museum Hannover, Vermächtnis Grethe Jürgens
László Moholy-Nagy. AXL II, 1927. Oil, graphite, and ink on canvas, 94,1 × 74,1 cm. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Donation, Gift, Mrs. Andrew P. Fuller, 1964 64.1754 © Estate of László Moholy-Nagy. Photo: Kristopher McKay
Theodore Lux Feininger, Xanti Schawinsky. Untitled, ca. 1927. Black and white photograph, painted. Plate: 23.2 × 17.9 cm. Private collection, Zurich © The Xanti Schawinsky Estate / Nachlass Theodore Lux Feininger 2021
Josef Albers. City, 1928. Glass and black, red, and white opaque, 29.1 × 56.1 cm. Kunsthaus Zürich, 1960 © The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, VEGAP, Bilbao, 2021
Gerrit T. Rietveld. Red and Blue Chair (Rot- Blauer Stuhl), 1918, (design) 1960s (production). Painted wood, 86.5 × 66 × 83 cm. Vitra Design Museum © Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, VEGAP, Bilbao, 2021. © Vitra Design Museum. Photo: Jürgen Hans
Christian Schad. Maika, 1929. Oil on wood, 65 x 53 cm. Private collection © Christian Schad Stiftung, Aschaffenburg, VEGAP, Bilbao, 2021
Madeleine Vionnet. Cocktail dress, ca. 1928. Silk. Martin Kamer. Photo: Kunsthaus Zürich, Franca Candrian
Constantin Brancusi. View from the Studio (Atelieransicht), 1930–31. Silver bromide print. Kunsthaus Zürich, Photography Collection. Gift in memory of Carola Giedion-Welcker, 1986 © Succession Brancusi – All rights reserved, VEGAP, Bilbao, 2021

The exhibition is a cooperation between the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and Kunsthaus Zürich. It was curated by Cathérine Hug, Kunsthaus Zürich, and Petra Joos, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

Images courtesy Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.