When is the exhibition open?

Tuesday to Sunday 11 to 18, Thursdays until 20. Admission is free on Wednesdays. Please check the current calendar of the venue before your visit.

Are there public tours?

Yes, the Fridericianum regularly offers public tours and the costs are included in the admission. Dates can be found in the museum's event calendar.

How much is admission?

Admission is 6 Euro, reduced 4 Euro. Children and youth under 18 have free admission. Admission is free on Wednesdays.

Is the exhibition accessible?

Yes, there is an external ramp access, elevators, barrier-free sanitary facilities, and loaner stools. Companions with the B mark in their ID receive free admission.

How do I reach the Fridericianum?

With KVG tram lines 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 8 to Friedrichsplatz stop. The Friedrichsplatz parking garage is in immediate proximity.

Am I allowed to take photos in the exhibition?

Information to follow. Please observe the house rules on-site and ask the supervisory staff about the current regulations.

Catherine Opie at the Fridericianum: powerful portraits, quiet spaces, great impact

Name: Catherine Opie: The pause that dreams against erasure
Start: 2026-03-31T13:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-03-31T20:00:00+02:00
Location: Fridericianum

Catherine Opie at the Fridericianum: Images that dream memory against forgetting

The Fridericianum presents the first institutional solo exhibition of Catherine Opie in Germany. Over three decades of photographic practice unfold as an intense artistic experience: portrait, landscape, documentation – always precisely composed and socially awake. At the same time, the major overview exhibition To Be Seen is running at the National Portrait Gallery London. This double visibility sharpens the view of Opie's significance in contemporary art.

Visual languages of identity: Portrait, community, self-positioning

Early portrait series from LSBTIQ* communities, iconic works such as the frontal portraits staged with clear visibility, and intimate domestic scenes condense into reflections on works that allow closeness without voyeurism. Colors, scars, leather, skin – materials of visibility. Opie's photography combines documentary accuracy with a consciously classicist image architecture.

Landscapes as resonance spaces

In the landscape series, coastlines, banks of fog, or urban edges appear as projection surfaces for hopes, traumas, and societal fractures. The exhibition atmosphere in the bright round of the rotunda and in the clearly structured halls of the Fridericianum makes the spatial effect of the large-format prints impressively palpable.

Political topographies: Movement and testimony

From Black Lives Matter to protest marches of the Trump era, Opie examines how publicness is formed in bodies and images. Her socially oriented photography updates traditions of the 20th century and leads them – with empathetic curation – into a visual ethics of the present.

Curation and architecture in dialogue

The exhibition was specifically designed for the Fridericianum. The historical architecture counters Opie's precise arrangement with axial lines of sight and calm zones for work contemplation. Light guides and wall distances accentuate surfaces, textures, and the dense psychology of the portraits.

Education: Tours, learning, accessibility

Public tours are regularly included in the program; the costs are included in the admission. Workshops for groups and schools deepen art-historical contexts, image analysis, and photographic processes. Accessibility options, elevators, and barrier-free sanitary areas support a relaxed, inclusive aesthetic experience.

Practical information

Opening hours Tue–Sun 11–18, Thu until 20. Standard ticket 6 Euro, reduced 4 Euro; free admission on Wednesdays. Access via KVG tram to Friedrichsplatz stop; Friedrichsplatz parking garage in immediate proximity.

Conclusion: Catherine Opie's work invites an intense, respectful encounter with visibility, community, and memory. Those who want to experience photography as contemporary art will find a must-see exhibition here – precise, poetic, socially relevant. Visit the exhibition and let the images continue to work in your own gaze.