6 October 2022

Hans & Lea Grundig: The Letters – A Workshop Report

Book launch and talk, 13 October 2022, Pariser Platz

The correspondence between the Dresden painter Hans Grundig (1901–1958) and his wife, graphic artist Lea Grundig, née Langer (1906–1977), has a particular quality that sets it apart and is for the most part unpublished. Some 700 in number, the letters written between 1926 and 1958 illustrate the day-to-day life and politics of three German societies. They speak of the fate of one Jewish family, of art and love – and of imprisonment, flight and separation. Just as important, they provide insight into the difficulties faced by Lea Grundig after 1945 when she returned from exile in Palestine to a Dresden left in ruins by the war. In advance of the complete edition that is planned, the workshop report “Just write to me a lot”: The Correspondence between Hans and Lea Grundig explains the historical context and explores the issues emerging from the correspondence. The publication centres on the years 1926 to 1932; it is edited by Kathleen Krenzlin on behalf of the Akademie der Künste and Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung and published by Deutscher Kunstverlag.

The book launch will take place on Thursday, 13 October 2022, at 7 pm in the Academy building on Pariser Platz. Kathleen Krenzlin will report on the process of producing a complete edition. Nele Rößler and Dominikus Weileder will read from some of the unpublished letters. After this, art historian Eckhart Gillen will talk with authors Beate Schreiber and Claus Löser and with Kathleen Krenzlin about the initial research results and about certain aspects of the lives of Hans and Lea Grundig that were previously unknown. A showcase exhibition will present works on paper as well as documents and photographs from the Grundig Archive, including the volumes of letters.

Dates
Hans & Lea Grundig: The Letters – A Workshop Report
Book launch and talk
With Eckhart Gillen, Kathleen Krenzlin, Claus Löser, Nele Rößler, Beate Schreiber, Dominikus Weileder
Welcome address: Werner Heegewaldt
Introduction: Daniela Trochowski, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung
Thursday, 13 October 2022, 7 pm
Akademie der Künste, Pariser Platz 4, 10117 Berlin
Admission €6/4; ticket reservations: 030 200 57-10 00; ticket@adk.de
Online tickets: www.adk.de/tickets
Press passes: To reserve, please email presse@adk.de or telephone 030 200 57-15 14

Information on the publication
“Schreibe mir nur immer viel”: Der Briefwechsel zwischen Hans und Lea Grundig;
Ein Werkstattbericht
Edited by Kathleen Krenzlin on behalf of the Akademie der Künste, Berlin, and Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung
Akademie der Künste, Berlin / Deutscher Kunstverlag
Berlin, Munich 2022
244 page, c.100 illustrations, ISBN 978-3-422-80060-1, € 24