A new exhibition at the Kunsthalle Bremen traces the dachshund’s place in art and offers limited visiting access for small dogs on set days.
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The dachshund is taking center stage in a new exhibition in Bremen, Germany, exploring the sausage dog’s history in art, with the opening slated for Saturday at the Kunsthalle Bremen. The show, titled “The Dachshund: An Icon off the Leash,” includes artwork by dachshund owners and fans such as Pablo Picasso, David Hockney and Andy Warhol, along with paintings, drawing, photography and video.
Museum director Christoph Grunenberg said he believes it is the world’s first exhibition dedicated specifically to the dachshund in art, rather than dogs in general. He described the dachshund as “a muse” and said the exhibition traces it “through history in all its different forms and important works of art,” including “ephemera.”
Grunenberg said the exhibition also draws on the dachshund’s long association with Germany, noting that Kaiser Wilhelm II had dachshunds and that Queen Victoria was a fan of the breed and brought some dogs from Germany. The show also includes exhibits brought in from Edinburgh, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh among others.
A German artist, Thorsten Brinkmann, created a bronze sculpture that includes a handbag on dachshund legs, honouring the breed’s reputation as a “handbag dog.” Brinkmann also provided the “Toxie Love” installation in the exhibition’s first room, described as setting a playful tone for the show.
Visitors can also see items loaned by the Dachshund Museum in Regensburg, in southern Germany. The museum said it will allow dachshunds and other small dogs into three of its eight rooms for several hours on Thursdays and Saturdays.
To enter, dogs must have a maximum shoulder height of 30 centimetres (about 1 foot) and require an online time-slot ticket. A “Dachshund Lounge” will be available as a waiting area during the time-slot entry.
The exhibition features Finnish photographer Elina Brotherus’ dachshund, Marcello, with the 13-year-old dog pictured in Brotherus’ work. Brotherus said Marcello has been her model since 2013 and called the relationship something “so, like, cute and philosophical and special.”
Kelsey Crossman, a business developer who lives in Bremen, attended a preview with her dachshund, Leonidas, or Leo for short. She said the breed’s appeal is in “their attitudes — they’re small, but they’re very strong and a little stubborn,” and that they are also easy to transport because of their size. She added that Leo is not allowed near some collectibles because he would likely grab one from the exhibit.
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