After the Barberini Museum, SAP founder Plattner is donating the second art gallery to the Brandenburg state capital. Art from the GDR is on display in the former “Minsk” terrace restaurant. At least as important to the billionaire is the preservation of the architecture.
GDR art in the former terrace restaurant: after two years of renovations, the new art gallery “Das Minsk” has been opened in Potsdam by the foundation of art patron and entrepreneur Hasso Plattner. Works from the GDR, which are part of the Hasso Plattner art collection, are shown there as well as contemporary art. The 3200 admission tickets for the opening weekend were quickly sold out. In Potsdam, the art collector Plattner has already created a visitor magnet with the Museum Barberini, not far from the new Kunsthaus.
Works from the GDR that are part of the Hasso Plattner art collection are shown there in new contexts and combined with contemporary art. “We want to show the complexity and contradiction of life experiences,” director Paola Malavassi said before the opening. Visitors can see exhibitions by Wolfgang Mattheuer entitled “The Neighbor Who Wants to Fly” and “Potsdam Allotment Gardens” by Stan Douglas. The theme of landscape should be illuminated from different perspectives.
The exhibition building was built in the 1970s and was a popular destination in Potsdam in the GDR as the “Minsk” restaurant. A restaurant was operated there for a few years in the Federal Republic. Since then, the house has fallen into disrepair, and demolition was also planned in the meantime.
In 2019, Plattner’s foundation acquired the building in the Brandenburg state capital in order to refurbish it and make it accessible to the public. The exhibition organizers hope that the newly renovated area with the terraces and several fountains overlooking the city center will again become a popular place for excursions. “We hope that people will not only come here to look at the art, but also use this park, that the children will play in the fountains again and then eat ice cream on the terrace,” said art collector Plattner.
During a preview, the SAP co-founder showed himself to be a friend of the architectural heritage of the GDR. “I didn’t like the constant tearing down,” he said, referring to buildings from the former GDR that were demolished after reunification. “I thought the architecture was excellent,” said the 74-year-old, explaining the reasons for his commitment.
“Maybe there wouldn’t have been anyone else to take over this ruin. It would in all likelihood have been flattened. And that wouldn’t have been good,” he said. His daughter Stefanie Plattner, who is responsible for the project at the Hasso Plattner Foundation, spoke of an “architectural jewel”. Potsdam will receive a place where the architectural and artistic achievements of the GDR have been preserved, even if it is not about a nostalgic look at the past.
