Embracing a breadth of artistic approaches, this presentation reflects the distinct methods through which artists in postwar Germany have responded both to personal history and a national history marked by destruction, division, and reconstruction. Spanning from the 1960s to the present day, these galleries look deeply into the careers of particular figures within German art, as well as themes that resonate across the production of entire generations. Within an increasingly globalized art world, the definition of German art is constantly expanding, but in the face of ever-shifting sociopolitical conditions, the artists on view find common ground in their tireless pursuit of new methods to address the conditions of their times.

This exhibition, along with presentations on Floors 4 and 5, is the result of an innovative partnership established in 2009 between the Fisher Art Foundation and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Bringing together works from the Fisher Collection and the museum’s permanent collection, these installations offer expansive ways of looking at the strengths of each.