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Distributed for Hirmer Publishers

The Applied Arts of the Brücke Artists

An illuminating survey that sheds new light on a little-known aspect of the Brücke artists: their works of applied art.   

In addition to their renowned paintings, the members of the German expressionist group Brücke also designed furniture, jewelry, and textiles. This catalog provides an overview of the Brücke artists’s work in the applied arts and their use of materials. It highlights the innovation, creativity, and unconventional approach of the group’s experiments in the decorative arts. Which production methods and creative contexts were formative for the artists of the Brücke group? Centered on three key materials—wood, metal, and textile—this richly illustrated volume examines the conditions that informed their artistic practice and offers new insights into their work. In-depth essays are complemented by conversations with contemporary practitioners. Visually compelling, the publication presents a wide spectrum of artistic positions from a fresh perspective.


320 pages | 450 color plates | 8.27 x 10.83 | © 2026

Art: Art--General Studies, European Art

Design


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Table of Contents

Foreword
Lisa Marei Schmidt and Katia Baudin

Lived art – the Brücke group’s approach to the applied arts. An introduction
Lisa Marei Schmidt and Aya Soika

The Brücke artists and the arts and crafts reform in Dresden
Aya Soika

Use for life – aesthetics for life. Applied art as idea, form and task at the beginning of the 20th century
Henrike Haug

Thinking with the hands. Creative collectives and applied art in European modernism
Lucie Blind

Applied art in built spaces. Stained glass and mosaics
Aya Soika

ART USE ACT. A collage of thoughts on education and outreach: the applied arts in the Brücke-Museum
Daniela Bystron and Ximena Gutiérrez Toro

WOOD
List of works with object texts by Valentina Bay

Omnia animata – everything has a soul. Wood as a working material in the applied arts of the Brücke
Christiane Remm and Lisa Marei Schmidt

No two woods are the same
Lisa Marei Schmidt in conversation with Valentin José Kammel

Glossary Wood

METAL
List of works with object texts by Natascha Hellwag

Metalworks and jewellery in the decorative arts of the Brücke
Christiane Remm

Craftsmanship and creativity belong together
Christiane Remm in conversation with Elisabeth Schotte

Glossary Metal

TEXTILE
List of works with object texts by Ann-Kathrin Hörrlein

Textile collaborations. Design, technique and authorship in the Brücke circle
Anika Reineke

On knots and stitches
Anika Reineke in conversation with Lisa Reichmann

Glossary Textile

Authors

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