Reflections and highlights from our 5 Friends sessionsThank You, ArtTalkers!

Dear ArtTalkers,

An incredible turnout for the 5 Friends show at Museum Ludwig! 💪

A big thank you to everyone who made the effort to come.

Renate traveled five hours from Heidelberg, Barbara flew in from Gdańsk, and Ralf joined us on crutches after knee surgery—talk about dedication! Jeanne, Hedi, and Dirk, it was great to welcome you for the first time.

The range of reactions to the exhibition was fascinating.

Annette noticed how the ArtTalk helped connect several main threads of the show. Many were surprised that the deep personal relationships and creative collaborations among Cage, Cunningham, Johns, Rauschenberg, and Twombly aren’t a better-known story. Sabine shared that even some experts at the opening were divided about this interpretation; proof that art history stays alive through dialogue!

Special 😘 thanks to semi-profi photographer Anke and Ulla for capturing moments - now in our AT gallery. As Ulla noted, photographing in such a packed space was a real challenge.

At the end of our 5 Friends ArtTalk, I announced that the next AT will take place on Thursday, February 5th 2026. I admit, the looks on your lovely faces and the comment “That’s a looong time away!” kinda warmed my heart. It made me feel that my efforts to create engaging and useful ArtTalks are seen and appreciated, thank you 😍

The next ArtTalk newsletter will follow soon, once the Cologne museums publish the overview for 2026. So, dear Claudia, you’ll have a short break from the “AT newsletter barrage” for a while 😉

This goes without saying, these digital newsletters are more than announcements. They’re my way to share background links and art insights—DE + EN—to keep your curiosity about art alive and growing between talks.

Artfully yours
Karla

ArtTalk Resources

🧠Falls du sie verpasst hast: Die Ausstellung „Fünf Freunde“ läuft noch bis zum 11. Januar 2026. Mehr zur Ausstellung und den engen künstlerischen Verbindungen zwischen John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg und Cy Twombly findest du hier:
👉 museum-ludwig.de – Fünf Freunde Ausstellung

💬 A fascinating look at how creative partnerships and friendships shaped modern art.
Frieze Magazine: Artistic Collaboration and Friendship (EN)

And don’t forget to check out and follow the creative work of Katarina on Instagram!

One of her ArtTalk reels got over 2000 views!🥳

📸 Follow for photos and stories: Instagram → ArtTalks.Cologne