The first Virtual Exhibition created by the documenta archiv explored the question in which way Bauhaus concepts have inscribed themselves in the documenta idea. It was available from August 2019 until November 2023 at www.documenta-​bauhaus.de.

In an art-​historical approach, the exhibition followed indications as to the extent to which the first four documenta exhibitions referred to the Bauhaus or were influenced by it. The most important actors, the institutions involved, the exhibited works, the appreciation of art and the visual appearance of the documenta were examined. In addition to vivid illustrations, numerous impressive features, cross-​references and background information enriched the narratives.

Nine stories and fourteen close-​ups by Verena Bornmann, Laura Diermann, Martin Groh, Birgit Jooss, Harald Kimpel, Andrea Linnenkohl and Anna Rühl illuminated the spectrum.

The Virtual Exhibition was part of the project "bauhaus | documenta"

Curator: Birgit Jooss                     

Stories

• Arnold Bode's first plan for documenta: art across national and genre borders
• Bauhaus artists at the first documenta, 1955
• b + d – A comparison of visual identity
• Bauhaus artists at the second documenta, 1959
• Experiences and principles of the Bauhaus for the New Kassel Werkakademie in the postwar period
• Kassel in the 1920s - contacts to the Bauhaus
• Applied art and design – the first three documenta exhibitions and their relation to Bauhaus ideas
• Arnold Bode's contacts in Berlin in the early 1930s
• Bauhaus artists at the third documenta, 1964

Close-​ups

• Werner Haftmann, the gray eminence of documenta
• "A pantheon of superior men": Bauhaus artists in photo portraits
• "Quintessence" of New Building: Bauhaus architectures in photo portraits
• Fritz Winter - From Bauhaus to documenta
• Hans Soeder and the reformation of the Kassel Art Academy
• Arnold Bode as designer
• The Rasch Wallpaper Factory - a cooperation project with the Bauhaus and Arnold Bode                     
• The Städtische Werklehrer-​Seminar in Berlin
• The Kroll Opera in Berlin – connections to Kassel and Dessau
• "Do German designers have to be furious?" – the case of Wagenfeld
• Primary colors and shapes at the Bauhaus
• Brian Jungen's "Dog Run" at documenta 13