A major retrospective exhibition celebrating the diverse artistic achievements of renowned German designer Wolfgang Joop opens Saturday at Kunstraum Potsdam. The comprehensive showcase features more than 200 works spanning fashion, painting, and sculpture, offering visitors an in-depth look at the multifaceted career of the designer who will turn 81 in November.
The exhibition transforms the 450-square-meter gallery space into six themed sections that highlight Joop's versatility as an artist. Towering video projections display his fashion collections from runways in Paris and Milan, while the gallery walls showcase his paintings and sculptures featuring recurring motifs of angels and monkeys. The free-admission exhibition runs from October 4 through November 18, providing an extensive overview of decades of creative work.
For Joop himself, viewing his life's work assembled in one place has proven to be an emotionally stirring experience. "It's naturally somewhat ambivalent. I look and say: That's who you were. I don't necessarily see a future there now, but only a past that touches me. Because with every picture and every collection and every photo, everything comes back to me again," Joop told the German Press Agency days before the opening. He admitted to feeling significant pre-opening jitters about the retrospective.
The exhibition was organized by Edwin Lemberg, Joop's life partner, who described the project as boldly innovative in its approach to combining art with fashion. Joop stands among Germany's most successful fashion designers alongside the late Karl Lagerfeld, who died in 2019, and Jil Sander. Throughout his career, he collaborated with top international models including Nadja Auermann and Claudia Schiffer, establishing himself as a major force in global fashion.
Long before achieving fame as a fashion designer, Joop began his artistic journey as a painter. His early works, which are featured in the exhibition, include oil paintings that mimic Flemish still lifes and baroque putti. "I would feel imprisoned if I were only a fashion designer or only a sculptor or draftsman," Joop said in an interview with RBB-Inforadio, describing himself as a "modest eccentric" who refuses to be confined to a single artistic medium.
The response to the retrospective has been overwhelmingly positive, according to Team Joop representatives. Lemberg suggested that the exhibition could potentially travel to other cities, though he declined to provide specific details about future plans. The Potsdam showing serves as a tribute to Joop's hometown, where he was born and has returned to live near Sanssouci Park after spending time in Hamburg and New York. "Much of what I have created also carries something of this city within it," Joop said in a statement released by the city for Saturday's opening.
The exhibition faced several delays before finally opening to the public. Originally planned to coincide with Joop's 80th birthday last year, the retrospective was postponed multiple times before finding its current October slot. Despite the delays, the comprehensive showcase now offers art and fashion enthusiasts a rare opportunity to experience the full scope of one of Germany's most celebrated creative talents in his native city.
