Exhibitions

Schwitters in Britain

From 29 Jan 2013 to 11 May 2013

30 Jan-12 May. The Tate Britain presents the first major exhibition dedicated to the late art of German painter and poet Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948), an artist central to European Modernism and a driving force behind the nihilistic Dada movement.

The exhibition focuses on the works that Schwitters created in Britain, from his arrival as a refugee in 1940 until his death there eight years later. Schwitters had been forced to flee Germany to escape persecution from the Nazi government which condemned his work as "degenerate".

Tracing the impact of exile on his subsequent art, the Tate show comprises over 150 collages, assemblages and sculptures, many of which have not been displayed publically in Britain for over 30 years.

The exhibition also features prime examples of "Merz", the form of Dada collage art invented by Schwitters in 1918, in which everyday or found material could be imbued with artistic potential.

10.00-18.00