Alexander Kluge: Pluriverse

Essen’s Museum Folkwang has assembled the first museum exhibition of the work of German filmmaker, writer, philosopher and artist Alexander Kluge (born 1932) to mark the occasion of the 85th birthday of this artistic polymath. Kluge is primarily known to American audiences as a filmmaker and writer. But he has never been satisfied with confining himself to a single art form, and he has not confined himself to a conventional model of single authorship either. Collaboration has long been a central principle in Kluge’s work, conceived as a process of “thinking together” with artists and writers such as Thomas Demand, Georg Baselitz and Ben Lerner. This comprehensive survey, developed in close collaboration with the artist, introduces Kluge’s artistic “pluriverse,” illustrating his most important methods, themes and conceptual approaches through a central focus on his filmic collages and collaborative work.