Hedwig Bollhagen and the HB-Werkstätten

Hedwig Bollhagen (1907–2001) was without doubt one of the most important 20th-century German female ceramic artists specifically as regards the field of serially-produced ceramics. In her oeuvre, which spanned roughly 70 years, she went through countless ups and downs; starting with the foundation in 1934 of her own HB-Werkstätten (HB workshop) in Marwitz outside Berlin, through the destruction to it caused by World War II, the subsequent rebuilding of the facility (which was suddenly located in East Germany), to its expropriation by the East German authorities. After German Reunification, the workshop was returned to her, and she then ran it until her death. In the course of all those years she produced an impressive multiplicity of timeless shapes and decorative patterns that to this day help define our idea of well-designed everyday tableware. This can be attributed to her unique gift for repeatedly reinventing herself and developing contemporary shapes and decorative patterns. We have today’s HB-Werkstätten to thank for the fact that her legacy has not been forgotten – it continues her work very much in line with Bollhagen’s own approach. The exhibition presents a glittering array of specimen pieces and one-offs from the stocks of HB-Werkstätten in Marwitz.

The spectrum ranges from historical ceramic items through to pieces from the current lines that strikingly visualize just how up-to-date Hedwig Bollhagen’s designs still are.