There are two architectural gems in the museum landscape: Haus Lange and Haus Esters, located in the Krefeld district of Bockum, complement the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum, which was inaugurated in 1899 in the city center. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a leading representative of the New Objectivity, designed the brick villas in the 1920s as residences for the families of two silk industrialists. Characteristic are the clear rectangular forms and the open spatial sequences. Everywhere, large windows create flowing transitions between the interiors and the garden areas, which were also designed by the architect.
Mies van der Rohe had to reconcile two things in Krefeld: despite their revolutionary spatial design, the homes should be suitable for everyday living. For decades now, Haus Lange and Haus Esters have demonstrated that they also function very well as exhibition houses. The Art Museums Krefeld utilize the beautiful ensemble, largely preserved in its original state, for temporary exhibitions of modern and contemporary positions. Young artists are repeatedly brought to Krefeld to create works specifically for this site in dialogue with the architecture.
Arman, Alberto Burry, Yves Klein, or Jean Tinguely had already started initial attempts of this kind since the late 1950s. From 1968 onwards, artists such as Christo, Sol LeWitt, or Richard Long followed. More recently, multimedia artist Kiki Smith and American conceptual artist John Baldessari have continued this tradition.
