70,000 visitors so far have seen the Paul Klee exhibit at Düsseldorf’s K21 museum, home to the State of North Rhine Westphalia’s collection of modern art, including the 100 Klee works.  

The first showing of K21’s entire collection of 100 pieces by Paul Klee was one of the most highly anticipated art exhibits in Düsseldorf last Fall.  About 70,000 have visited since it opened on September 29, 2012.  Due to the high demand, the exhibit, called “100 x Paul Klee – Paintings and their Stories,” will be extended until April 21, 2013.

The collection, which was started in 1960 with the purchase of 88 of the artist’s works, includes paintings, drawings, watercolors and other color media.  It not only gives a unique perspective into the eclectic approach and inexhaustible creativity of Klee, but is also a fascinating look at the initiatives of its collectors and the elements of politics and diplomacy involved in creating a collection.

Klee (1879 -1940), one of the most influential artists in cubism, expressionism and surrealism and member of Bauhaus school, taught at Düsseldorf’s Art Academy in the early 1930s, until he emigrated in 1933 under the pressures of the Nazi regime.  His works reflect his acute analytical sense and sharp eye for contemporary events, and create a universe of tragicomedy, irony, gravity and lightness, pleasure and pain.

An extensive entertainment program complements the exhibit.  On Sunday, February 10 at 11:30 am – the exhibit’s original ending date – there will be a concert (included in the museum admission) by musicians of Düsseldorf’s Robert Schumann Music College featuring pieces that inspired music lover Paul Klee.  The performance will also include pieces by contemporary composers that were influenced by Paul Klee’s art.  

K21 is one of two Düsseldorf museums that house the State of North Rhine Westphalia’s modern art collection, and features mainly post modern and contemporary art, artist’s rooms, installations and new media.  In addition to Klee’s works, the collection includes pieces by German artists Gerhard Richter and Joseph Beuys, important examples of American art after 1945 and early 20th century art, such as works by Pablo Picasso and Piet Mondrian, which are shown at K20.

For more information on the extended exhibit “100 x Paul Klee,” visit http://www.kunstsammlung.de.

The city’s tourism office is offering hotel and city specials for many of the city’s art-related events, including the Paul Klee exhibit, and this special has also been extended through April 22, 2013.  The Paul Klee Package can be booked right from the tourism office’s website http://www.duesseldorf-tourismus.de/klee.  Prices start at €59 per night per person based on double-occupancy for a 2-3 star hotel in the city center and at €99 per person for a 4-star hotel.  All packages include breakfast, a 1-day ticket to the Paul Klee exhibit, a Düsseldorf Welcome Card (free public transportation within city limits, plus 50 free or reduced admissions to city attractions), and a city information package.

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Düsseldorf Marketing & Tourism GmbH is the visitors and convention bureau of the city of Düsseldorf. Its responsibilities include tourism and city marketing, as well as conference and meeting marketing, hotel reservation services, fairs and convention services, city event ticket sales and advance ticket reservations. For more information, visit http://www.visitduesseldorf.de.                                      

Düsseldorf International Airport, Germany’s Next Generation HubTM, offers several non-stop flights from US & Canadian cities (Atlanta, Chicago, Ft. Myers, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Newark, Toronto, San Francisco, Vancouver), as well as convenient connections to many European cities.   For more information about the airport, visit www.fly2dus.com.