The U.S. Embassy in Berlin, Germany was conceptualized in 1996 by architects Moore Ruble Yudell. The building opened on July 4, 2008, and is located next to the historic Brandenburg Gate and near the Reichstag, home to the German government. The main entrance faces Pariser Platz and the south side of the embassy faces the German Holocaust Memorial designed by architect, Peter Eisenman.
Courtesy of Moore Ruble Yudell
In 2006 FAPE commissioned Ellsworth Kelly to create a sculpture for the U.S. Embassy in Berlin. The work was fabricated in California by Carlson Baker Arts LLC. On February 13, 2008, one of the largest mobile cranes in Europe was used to hoist the artist’s work over the embassy for permanent placement in the courtyard garden.
Gift of the artist with additional funding provided by Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass
“I am honored to be able to support FAPE and its important mission to bring American art to the world through our embassies. In 2008, my Berlin Totem, a 40-foot-high stainless-steel sculpture, was installed in the courtyard of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin. I was commissioned by the German government in 2000 to install a work in the Bundestag at the Paul-Löbe-Haus in Berlin, so it was exciting to continue the conversation of my work by contributing to our government’s building in this historic capital. ”
Ellsworth Kelly
Berlin Totem
2008
Stainless steel, 40 feet x 4 feet x 8 inches
Early in the development of the new Berlin Embassy, Sol LeWitt was invited to create a wall drawing for the Behrenstraße entrance. The work is highly visible to the public and is across the street from the German Holocaust Memorial. The pattern of the mural follows the outline of a five-pointed star: on one side in black and white and on the other in brilliant colors. LeWitt’s wall drawings usually evolve from a set idea that gives directions to those who actually paint or draw the work. In February 2008, a team from his studio installed the wall drawing.
Gift of the artist with funding provided by The Honorable Ronald S. Lauder and Mrs. Jo Carole Lauder
“Art makes order from chaos. Clarity from obscurity. Something from nothing. (Sometimes nothing from something.)”
Sol LeWitt
Wall Drawing #1256: Five Pointed Stars
2008
Acrylic paint, First drawn by: Nicolai Angelov, Alvar Beyer, Anette Haas, Daniel Schoernig, Wim Starkenburg, 15 x 30 feet
In 2007, due to a lack of funding, the State Department approached FAPE about providing an art collection for the U.S. Embassy in Berlin. The embassy is a showcase for the finest examples of American art and the Collection was curated by the Co-Chairmen of FAPE’s Professional Fine Arts Committee — the late Riva Castleman, former Chief Curator of Prints and Illustrated Books at The Museum of Modern Art, and Robert Storr, former Dean of the Yale School of Art.
The highlight of the Collection is a series of portraits by Andy Warhol of one of Germany’s most prominent contemporary artists, Joseph Beuys. The triptych, FAPE’s first acquisition for the project, greets visitors before entering the Press Conference Room. More than 70 pieces were placed permanently throughout the building and features art by:
Walter T. Amos • Louisiana Bendolph • Mary Lee Bendolph • Loretta Bennett • Alexander Calder • Christo and Jeanne-Claude • Chuck Close • Mark di Suvero • Todd Eberle • Philip Guston • Jasper Johns • Alex Katz • Ellsworth Kelly • Judy Glickman Lauder • Jacob Lawrence •
Annette Lemieux • Sol LeWitt • Roy Lichtenstein • Robert Mangold • Inge Morath • Elizabeth Murray • Claes Oldenburg • Loretta Pettway •
Ellen Phelan • Jackson Pollock • Robert Rauschenberg • Dorothea Rockburne • James Rosenquist • Susan Rothenberg • Ed Ruscha •
Laurie Simmons • Frank Stella • Andy Warhol • William Wegman
In 2012 Robert Storr, Chairman of FAPE’s Professional Fine Arts Committee, visited the U.S. Embassy in Berlin to install a series of prints by Jackson Pollock. While there, Storr made a presentation to staff about the Collection, and was filmed talking about some of the key works.
Artists at Work: Ellsworth Kelly & Sol LeWitt
In February 2008, Ellsworth Kelly’s 40-foot-high stainless-steel totem was permanently installed in the courtyard garden of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin. At the same time, a team from Sol LeWitt’s studio installed Wall Drawing #1256: Five Pointed Stars, in the Behrenstraße entrance.
Robert Storr on Ellsworth Kelly
Robert Storr on Jackson Pollock
Robert Storr on Andy Warhol
Robert Storr on Sol LeWitt
Robert Storr on the Gee’s Bend artists as well as others in the Berlin Collection
