Why go
Use the collection's two buildings to make an informed art choice. K20 brings major twentieth-century artists together near the Altstadt, while K21 offers large-scale installations in a former parliament building beside the Kaiserteich. If time is limited, pick the site whose focus interests you more; the institution's name alone does not tell you which building to visit.
The full story
The Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen began in 1961 as the state collection of North Rhine-Westphalia. An acquisition of works by Paul Klee helped shape its early focus on modern art. K20 opened at Grabbeplatz in 1986; its black granite exterior makes the building easy to recognize before you enter. The collection there connects artists such as Klee, Picasso, Matisse and Mondrian with later American and German work. K21 opened in the Ständehaus by the Kaiserteich in 2002. The building had served as the state parliament, so its setting offers a different encounter with art from K20's purpose-built museum. Installations and artist's rooms are especially associated with K21. The two sites make the institution easier to understand as a conversation between modern painting and more spatial contemporary work, rather than as one museum with a single entrance.
Useful to know
- Check the current exhibitions at K20 and K21 before choosing a building; they are separate sites.
- Pair K20 with an Altstadt walk, or K21 with time around the Kaiserteich.