2023-05-25 20:05:16
The US ambassador shows art in the residence – with a thoroughly biographical touch.
Amy Gutmann in her residence, here with Klaus Biesenbach, in the background Mathias Döpfner.Berliner Zeitung
Amy Gutmann, the US Ambassador, names three cities that have shaped her life: New York, Philadelphia and Berlin. On Wednesday, she presented art from the US Department of State’s holdings that traces her life, Gutmann said at the presentation of the “Diversity, Inclusion, and Unity” exhibition at the ambassador’s residence in Dahlem. The creative power of art is necessary to pave the way for freedom, Ambassador Gutmann told the Berliner Zeitung. She said: “Putting the pictures together also reminded me of my childhood.” Gutmann’s family had to flee from the National Socialists in Feuchtwangen. Amy Gutmann said her father took pictures to the US from India, where he had fled. As such, an iconic 2012 portrait painted by Rina Bannerjee, a Kolkata-born Indian-American, means a lot to her. The themes of flight and emigration played a special role in the selection of the works of art. Amy Gutmann has a soft spot for Abstract Expressionism, which naturally features prominently in the Art in Embassies collection opened by President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Works by Josef Albers, Stuart Davies, Adolph Gottlieb and the Kiev-born Jewish painter Alexander Liberman can now be found on the walls of the ambassador’s residence. Very strong women are represented with Theresa Volpp, Barbara Takenaga, Christine Sun Kim and Ann Agee. As is typical of ambassador Amy Gutmann, she doesn’t miss out on self-mockery either: she has hung a mirror by the Dane Jeppe Hein in the stairwell, which she looks into every morning on her way to breakfast. It says: “We are all imperfect.” Then you can start every day with a smile, especially since the motto in the USA is usually that you have to make the perfect even more perfect. Hein’s provocative benches in the garden in front of the residence also provide relaxation.
Numerous cultural workers and artists attended the opening of the exhibition. The ambassador gave special thanks to the director of the Neue Nationalgalerie, Klaus Biesenbach, who supports art in the embassy. Also present were Springer boss Mathias Döpfner, the General Manager of the Humboldt Forum Hartmut Dorgerloh, the gallery owner Markus Peichl, the conductor Todd Fletcher, the conductor and founder of the Berlin Academy of American Music, Garrett Keast, and Deidre Berger from Jewish Digital Cultural Recovery Project.
#Images #diversity #inclusion #unity