Georg Bernhard – Drawing is like breathing to meWorks on paper from eight decades

14.05.2027 – 17.10.2027 at Kunsthalle Augsburg im Glaspalast

In this exhibition, the GfG – Gesellschaft für Gegenwartskunst e.V. (Society for Contemporary Art) focuses on the life’s work of Georg Bernhard (born 1929, Augsburg), an artist who has shaped and influenced the development of art in the region since the second half of the 20th century like few others. He has been active as an artist for over 80 years – an impressive body of work that is now, for the first time, being comprehensively examined, documented and made accessible to the public in the form of an exhibition and an accompanying publication.

Not least due to his many years of teaching in Augsburg, Georg Bernhard is known far beyond the city’s borders and has shaped several generations of artists. Furthermore, his works in the field of ‘art in architecture’ can be seen on numerous sacred and secular buildings throughout Bavaria. This extensive body of work is being documented by the Society for Contemporary Art in a dedicated publication, which will appear as a catalogue raisonné.

The three display rooms of the H2 at the Kunsthalle Augsburg present a representative selection from Georg Bernhard’s body of drawings – from his beginnings in the early 1940s to the present day. The exhibition traces the development of key motifs, in particular the human figure. Stylistic shifts, as well as the artist’s impressive confidence and versatility in working with various graphic media, are evident in the works on display.

The exhibition takes visitors on a journey through time, exploring Georg Bernhard’s artistic output. And this journey does not end in the past: even today, new works are created daily in his studio.
Georg Bernhard has been associated with the Augsburg Society for Contemporary Art (GfG) since its foundation. Time and again, the GfG Art Library has received prints and drawings as donations from the artist. Most recently, in 2024, Bernhard donated a collection of ten sheets. Today, the Art Library holds a collection of works dating from 1966 to 2019, providing a comprehensive insight into the development of his drawing practice.

The GfG has already showcased Georg Bernhard’s paintings and drawings in several exhibitions at the Kongress am Park and at H2 – Centre for Contemporary Art, now known as the Kunsthalle Augsburg in the Glaspalast. The exhibition Georg Bernhard – Drawing is like breathing to me continues this long-standing association and, for the first time, traces a broad arc spanning eight decades of his work on paper.