Katharina Grosse transforms Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof into a kaleidoscopic world of colour

A spectrum bursts through the former train station’s doors

Queen of colour Katharina Grosse has taken over Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof with a riotous and vibrant painting that spills out of the building.

It Wasn’t Us resembles a colossal sheet of crumpled paper or a crushed flower, dipped in stripes of contrasting red, yellow and blue.

The installation occupies the entirety of Hamburger Bahnhof’s interior and carries on through the building’s pivoting glass doors onto the pavement outside, as well as the facade of the nearby Rieckhallen.

Grosse, who is known for her large-scale pieces, spent several weeks completing the artwork, saying simply, ‘I painted my way out of the building.’

It Wasn’t Us will remain in place until 10 January 2021.

Katharina Grosse transforms Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof into a kaleidoscopic world of colour
Katharina Grosse, ‘It Wasn’t Us’, 2020. Berlin, Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart. Photography: Nic Tenwiggenhorn or Jens Ziehe
Katharina Grosse transforms Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof into a kaleidoscopic world of colour
Katharina Grosse, ‘It Wasn’t Us’, 2020. Berlin, Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart. Photography: Nic Tenwiggenhorn or Jens Ziehe
Katharina Grosse transforms Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof into a kaleidoscopic world of colour
Katharina Grosse, ‘It Wasn’t Us’, 2020. Berlin, Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart. Photography: Nic Tenwiggenhorn or Jens Ziehe
Katharina Grosse, ‘It Wasn’t Us’, 2020. Berlin, Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart. Photography: Nic Tenwiggenhorn or Jens Ziehe

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