Peter Behrens - Kunst und Technik (Art and Technology)

Peter Behrens is regarded as one of the most prominent German architects and was a pioneer of modern design. To mark his 150th birthday the LVR-Industriemuseum has devoted a new permanent exhibition to him entitled “Peter Behrens – Kunst und Technik” (Peter Behrens – Art and Technology) in the Peter-Behrens-Bau Repository and Exhibition Building in Oberhausen.

Peter Behren’s artistic accomplishments cover virtually all fields of design: furniture, ceramics, porcelain and cutlery, clothes, table cloths and serviettes as well as commercial art and posters. As artistic advisor (Beirat) to AEG he shaped their corporate design. He became an influential industrial architect and designer. The careers of later Bauhaus artists Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Adolf Meyer started in Behren’s studio. For a time Le Corbusier was also one of his collaborators.

Art for Industry

The connection between “art and technology” was a central concern to him and he discussed this in numerous publications and public lectures. Logos still in use today for AEG and for the Insel-Verlag (Publishers) and the lettering on the Reichstag building in Berlin “Dem Deutschen Volke” were penned by him as were the designs for the AEG turbine hall in Berlin-Moabit, the Hoechst administration building in Frankfurt am Main and the main storage warehouse of the Gutehoffnungshütte in Oberhausen, which today as the Peter-Behrens-Bau houses the LVR-Industriemuseum’s repository.

New Permanent Exhibition – Architektur und Design (Architecture and Design)

The new permanent exhibition presents specially made architectural models based on the original plans as well as numerous current and historic photographs of his buildings. The models were made by the Peter Behrens School of Arts at the University of Düsseldorf. The spectrum ranges from Behren’s own house on the Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt, an early work, to his later works such as the tobacco factory in Linz. Quite a few exhibits also originate from the LVR-Industriemuseum’s collection including early household items from the Art Nouveau period or technical appliances for well-known companies such as AEG and Villeroy & Boch as well as loans from other institutions and private collectors. The main focus is on Peter Behrens’ accomplishments as an architect and industrial designer.