For over fifty years, Gabriele Stötzer has challenged the boundaries of art, using her body as a site of feminist resistance and political defiance. Born during the GDR era, her practice emerged from lived experience of state repression — imprisoned for organizing a petition deemed "defamation of state," she later co-founded the legendary underground art collective Künstlerinnengruppe Erfurt, where her radical vision took shape.

The Exhibition

Dabei sein und nicht schweigen (Being present and not staying silent) marks her largest institutional solo exhibition to date, bringing together around 150 works across painting, photography, textile art, literature, Super 8 film, and public interventions. Each piece speaks to questions of justice, gender, and self-determination — never employing the body as passive object, but as active territory of resistance and desire.

Curated by Julia Grosse and presented at Gropius Bau's iconic brutalist venue, this exhibition finally delivers the recognition Stötzer deserves. Her work demonstrates how personal vulnerability and artistic experimentation can collectively counter structures of control and silence.

Hours & Visiting

Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri: 12:00–19:00
Sat, Sun: 10:00–19:00
Tue: Closed

Gropius Bau is fully accessible. Read more