Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, Germany, is currently presenting Eccentric. Aesthetics of Freedom, an art exhibition that explores eccentricity as an expression of freedom and a social force for tolerance. The show brings together around 100 works across mediums by 50 global artists, both contemporary and modern, and is on from October 25, 2024 – April 27, 2025. Eccentric is curated by journalist, author and curator Eva Karcher and Bernhart Schwenk, head of contemporary art, sammlung moderne kunst (modern art collection), Pinakothek der Moderne. The curators join STIR for an interview that explores the show’s articulation of eccentricity in greater depth.

Eccentric’s roster of practices includes historic names such as the famed Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí (1904 – 1989) and the French theatre costume designer and fashion illustrator Christian Bérard (1902 – 1949), as well as contemporary artists including American artist Mickalene Thomas and the Kashmiri artist Raqib Shaw, who is based in London. There are even some rather unexpected additions, such as Jeff Koons, whose work is often derided by critics for being safe and uninteresting—anything but eccentric. 

Eccentrics don’t think in structures of either/or; not in hierarchical power structures, not in enemy stereotypes, not in discriminating ways, but in structures of both-and. Eccentricity is the factor balancing both/and.
– Eva Karcher, journalist, author and curator

Eccentricity is predominantly treated as a state of deviating from commonly accepted norms. But how does this quality fit into contemporary art? Furthermore, how do we equate it to the global and intergenerational selection of artists at Eccentric? The curators offer some insight, explaining that they view eccentricity as a transcultural concept. In their words, “We relate the phenomenon very generally to the radical transgression of conventions, the breaking of rules, the abandonment of genre boundaries, the unorthodox use of materials, etc.”

Perhaps this broadness of purview enables the show to comfortably include the eclectic selection of practices in its roster. However, one may still question the presence of artists like Koons. It is difficult to characterise work by the American conceptual artist as transgressive or unorthodox. If anything, he is widely associated with a populism that speaks to the consumerist attitudes and majority preoccupations of the moment. In material terms as well, Koons has worked extensively with stainless steel, a material in widespread use in conceptual art, and has likened its texture to “pure sex” (though his work has sometimes been criticised for being sexually regressive).

There is another way to look at Koons, and perhaps, a case to be made yet for his inclusion in this show. As Dazed’s Rosin Mcveigh and Koons have observed (in an interview with Forbes), his work projects a sense of radical acceptance. It is starkly at odds with the contemporary drive to mould our lives and the world around us through the accrual of wealth and social capital. Mcveigh regards the artist’s Seated Ballerina (2017), which was installed in Rockefeller Plaza, New York, as a moving symbol of restfulness and self-contemplation in a city that is otherwise characterised by hyper-productivity. Koons, discussing his affinity for using readymades in his work, told Forbes, “It's the starting point of acceptance. It’s being able to say that I accept the world as it is, it’s perfect in its own being and everything is about this moment forward.” If we revisit Karcher and Schwenk’s perspective on eccentricity, one could argue that the American artist’s message is indeed transgressive in view of the competitiveness and drive for success that defines our lives.

Karcher and Schwenk add that the show is “primarily about personalities or works that are characterised by extraordinary courage and unbridled openness, and that are immune to any kind of deliberately restrictive ideology”. In some cases, we can even extend these qualities to the artists’ personal lives. For example, during Paris’ sexual revolution in the 1930s and 40s, Christian Bérard and his partner, the Russian poet and dancer Boris Kochno (1904 – 1990), were the first openly gay couple in the French theatre scene.

Much of Bérard’s professional life was spent in French fashion circles, where he is now considered to have been quite important. However, his name has largely been omitted from art history, which, as Vogue’s Laird Borrelli-Persson notes, is a result of the historical marginalisation of LGBTQ figures, along with the prevalent notion that fashion itself is frivolous. The fashion analyst and historian also mentions that even in his heyday, many of the artist’s own peers felt that his fashion and costume designing work was holding him back from a higher calling as a painter. This has led to Bérard being marginalised even within the fashion world.

Borrelli-Persson also brings to our attention one more aspect of Bérard’s personal life that speaks to his eccentricity: in sharp contrast to the vividly beautiful costumes he illustrated, the artist chose to dress in tattered clothes and refrain from grooming his beard. The irony was not lost on the likes of Christian Dior (1905 – 1957) and Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel (1883 – 1971), with whom Bérard frequently collaborated with. In fact, Bérard’s identity is so inextricable from the tackiness of his appearance that the 2018 biography of the artist by Swiss journalist and writer Jean Pierre-Pastori is titled Clochard Magnifique or The Magnificent Tramp. Surely, it took significant courage on the part of Bérard to refrain from conforming to the sexual norms of general society, as well as the artistic and aesthetic sensibilities of French fashion circles in the 1930s and 40s.

While Karcher and Schwenk’s explanation of the show’s approach to eccentricity is helpful, the professional and personal tendencies that they have listed do not all apply to each of the eccentrics. So what, then, is the essential quality of eccentricity? Karcher provides us with a heartfelt explanation that frames the exhibition rather inspiringly. The curator reiterates that it is the quality of being “immune against and to resist ideologies”. Thinking through the practices described above, we can extend this statement to a maverick sensibility and thick-skinnedness in the face of criticism or marginalisation. Karcher elaborates on her explanation, saying that “eccentrics don’t think in structures of either/or; not in hierarchical power structures, not in enemy stereotypes, not in discriminating ways, but in structures of both-and. Eccentricity is the factor balancing both/and.”

‘Eccentric. Aesthetics of Freedom’ is on at Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, from October 25, 2024 – April 27, 2025.