GDR art – Otto Kayser in Gotha: The love of transformation

“I wanted Otto Kayser to have an exhibition that was just as big as Kurt W. Streubel,” says art historian and nd author Peter Arlt to this newspaper. He is the curator of the show “Otto Kayser: Like a Poet” at the Hannah Höch Art Forum in Gotha. Otto Kayser (1915–1998) and Kurt W. Streubel (1921–2002) were working as artists in the Thuringian district town at the same time. But they were valued differently. With his surreal and constructivist work, Streubel was not in line with the GDR’s cultural policy and was consequently “dismissed” as an artist, while Otto Kayser’s programmatic realism was in demand. After 1990, this relationship turned around: suddenly there was a lot of interest in Streubel, says Arlt, while interest in Kayser fell. Many would have thought that the latter had only created commissioned art. In 2021, the Gothaer Kunstforum Streubel organized a large solo exhibition to mark his posthumous 100th birthday. Now, at Peter Arlt’s instigation, there is one for Kayser.

Every visitor to the show should quickly realize that Otto Kayser’s work was by no means as one-dimensional as the catchphrase “commissioned art” might suggest. Over 100 works that Peter Arlt has selected for presentation extend over three floors. They come from the legacy of over 3,500 works that was handed over to the city of Gotha a few years ago by Otto Kayser’s surviving relatives. On the ground floor you can see some of Kayser’s preparatory work for his building-related art. Kayser designed public spaces in many places in Thuringia with murals, mosaics and metalwork – only one of the 14 works is still in its original location, a few have been dismantled and restored, most have been destroyed or missing. The highlight of Kayser’s work in public space was the “Cultural Historical Column,” which the artist created in 1973 on behalf of the Seebach community. It was a copper-driven column with 24 reliefs, each showing a symbolic motif of human happiness and suffering throughout history. The reliefs are currently being restored one by one. Three of them, which have already been restored, are hanging in the current exhibition.

On the second and third floors of the Kunstforum there are all sorts of two-dimensional works that, taken together, demonstrate the diversity of Kayser’s artistic expression. Many motifs from ancient mythology can be seen here, but also many worker portraits and work scenes – the worker was a leitmotif in GDR art – as well as city landscapes – for example from Leningrad or the Syrian Latakia – and more abstract, cubist motifs, the title of which provides information about the included figurative parts, and some portraits. Not only the abundance of different motifs, but also the styles, materials and techniques demonstrate a great artistic curiosity: woodcuts, oil paintings, watercolors, etchings, pencil, chalk and pen drawings, stencil prints – there seems to be hardly any medium that is two-dimensional in which Kayser did not try himself out.

For the curator, the connection to the artist’s life is clear in some of the works. For example, in the etching “Transformation of Myrrha” (1983), in which Kayser takes up a relatively unknown Greek legend in order to reflect his own family constellation. The etching “Transformation of Io” (1983) is an example of why Kayser wanted to be seen as a visual artist “like a poet” – a statement that gave the exhibition its title. It is a picture puzzle that shows a human figure mixed with an animal figure – and as such tells the myth of the king’s daughter Io, who was Zeus’ lover and was turned into a cow by him because his wife Hera discovered the relationship . There are several eyes around the creature’s head: They belong to the giant Argos (Latin: Argus), whom Hera has obliged to permanently guard the animal.

Such a drawn Argus Eye can also be found a few meters further in the exhibition on a New Year’s greeting card from 1984, which lies in a display case alongside other memorabilia and documents. The artist had once designed it for the curator, with whom he was personally acquainted. The added saying – “a protected and joyful year” – can also be understood as ironic and subversive, says Arlt. Was the artist criticizing the GDR’s state surveillance system with the card? What Kayser deep down thought of the GDR and its institutions cannot be said with certainty. But it is probably not crucial for understanding the significance of his work, which was pushed into the background after 1990. This can stand on its own and impresses with its wealth of motivic ideas as well as its enthusiasm for different techniques and styles.

“Otto Kayser: Like a Poet”, until January 26, 2025, Kunstforum Hannah Höch, Gotha

Events: »Kayser bookmarks. Following his instructions, Peter Arlt reads from novels, poems and art books from Otto Kayser’s book collection,” Thursday, November 21st, 7 p.m.; Bazaar with books and graphics from Otto Kayser’s estate, Friday, December 12th, from 7 p.m.; Finissage: Guided exhibition tour with Peter Arlt, Sunday, January 26th, 4 p.m