How long have you been working at the SPK, and what are your responsibilities?
I have been employed as a research assistant at the Gemäldegalerie since September 2023. Together with the director, Dagmar Hirschfelder, I curated the exhibition ‘From Odessa to Berlin: European Painting from the 16th to the 19th Century’. We are exhibiting works by Old Masters and 19th-century European painters from the Odessa Museum of Western and Eastern Art in Ukraine, which is under threat from the Russian war of aggression. In our exhibition, these works enter into dialogue with selected pieces from the Gemäldegalerie, the Kupferstichkabinett and the Alte Nationalgalerie.
This exhibition project is quite unique: the first significant event right at the start was the arrival of the paintings in Berlin. The paintings had been removed from their decorative frames and packed in Ukraine. In the meantime, they had been stored in a makeshift warehouse with unsuitable climate conditions. When the doors of the art transporter finally opened in Berlin after a long journey and all twelve crates we’d been told to expect were inside, I was truly relieved. Over the following months, we then examined the paintings and developed an exhibition concept. Placing them in dialogue with works from Berlin emphasises the European character of the collection we received from Odessa. In everything we do, we are accompanied by thoughts of our colleagues in Ukraine, who are enduring an ongoing threat.
From Odessa to Berlin: European Painting from the 16th to the 19th Century
24 January 2025 to 22 June 2025
Gemäldegalerie, Kulturforum Berlin
The Gemäldegalerie is exhibiting 60 paintings from the Museum of Western and Eastern Art in Odesa (following the Ukrainian spelling), the famous port city in southern Ukraine that is under threat from the war.
The works were brought to safety before the war and now enter into dialogue in Berlin with paintings from the city’s own collections. This major special exhibition, following a small introductory presentation in spring 2024, is an exceptional collaborative project and is supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.
The exhibition is curated by Sabine Lata, research assistant at the Gemäldegalerie, and Dagmar Hirschfelder, Director of the Gemäldegalerie, with conservation supervision provided by conservators Anja Lindner-Michael and Thuja Seidel.
Photo: Sabine Lata in front of the exhibition entrance, SPK / Killisch
What is your favourite place in the SPK and what do you most enjoy doing there?
I love the Picture Gallery, where you can admire fantastic works by Old Masters of world-class calibre. Naturally, at the moment I most enjoy spending time in the gallery’s foyer, where the exhibition ‘From Odessa to Berlin’, which I co-curated, is currently on display.
First thing in the morning, I head to the postcard station at the exhibition exit. Here, visitors can jot down their impressions and thoughts on postcards printed especially for the exhibition, which they can then pin to a noticeboard. The messages and wishes from people all over the world move me deeply and somehow seem comforting to me, as they often express solidarity with Ukraine. I’m also delighted by the visitors’ interest in the works when they linger in front of the paintings for a long time, and when I notice that they’re enjoying the atmosphere, the light and the colour of the exhibition rooms.
For me, the portrait of Countess Olena Tolstoy, located right in the first room of the exhibition, is one of the most beautiful portraits. Olena, who married into the wealthy and extensive Tolstoy family as a simple servant, appears very introverted, almost melancholic, yet at the same time she exudes great elegance.
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