Exhibition at Museum Morsbroich: Bayer 04 player Hofmann curates room

Jonas Hofmann, who cannot attend the preview event as he is away on international duty with Germany, explained his reasons for selecting works of art for his exhibition space. "I picked out the things I liked. I selected these works as I'm a big lover of nature and I like spending my holidays and my time off there where I feel great happiness." In relation to the Plastik (Sculpture) work by Josef Neuhaus, one of his four selected works of art (see below), Hoffman said: "With the sculpture, you can see through it from both sides – translated into life that means to me that everything is open to me. I feel very grateful when I look back at my life."

The foray into art was an inspirational experience for the 31-year-old: "I've never done anything like that before but it was great fun. Art is a very special area and a new world to me. I did have some interest in art in the past and many of my friends are interested in it. Therefore, it was great to be able to delve into material in more depth – I really enjoyed it."

curator: "he chose our most high-profile artwork“

Curator Dr Thekla Zell explained working with Hofmann: "We had a long discussion here. The basis of the exhibition is the question about what we use to define ourselves – about that we have and that what we are. He was allowed free choice of what he liked that was available in the collection. He did a great job."

The curator said about Hofmann’s selection of the work by Gerhard Richter (Tiger): "He chose the Tiger because he likes to travel to different continents. In terms of art history, it is obviously a very high profile picture, the most high profile in our collection." Asked about the desired aim of the exhibition, Dr Zell said: "What would make us happy is to feel that everybody can have access to art – regardless of whether they' are an art student, postal worker or professional footballer – and that everybody can have a different perspective of art. In this case ten people, ten perspectives, ten rooms. Art is here for everybody."

exhibition runs from 19 November at Museum Morsbroich

Hofmann chose the title of "Happiness" as the name for his room at the exhibition and he formulated his own text for the room that reflected his thoughts on the selection of works: "I love to fill my life collecting beautiful moments. Many were created in natural surroundings. If I look through the work by Josef Neuhaus – sculpture – then I can see my life in two directions. The life in the future and in the past. I can see great happiness in both directions."

The ‘sein & haben’ Exhibition at the Museum Morsbroich runs from 19 November.“

The works of art selected by Jonas Hofmann:

Gerhard Richter
Tiger, 1965
Oil on canvas
Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen / Acquired 1968

Josef Neuhaus
Plastik 1969-24, 1969
Wood, white paint
Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen / Acquired 1982

Rob Scholte
Groeten uit Amsberg (Greetings from Amsberg), 1986
Acrylic on canvas
Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen / Permanent loan from private collection

Wolf Vostell
Leben gleich Kunst (Life equals art), 1974
Sketchpad in wooden box with crow
Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen / Permanent loan from the state of North Rhine Westphalia

About the ‘sein & haben’ exhibition:

The ‘sein & haben’ exhibition sees itself as an experiment. It deals with questions according to our understanding of ourselves and the role of art and museums in our current society. The title comes from Erich Fromm and his book Haben oder Sein (To Have or to Be) (1976) whose socio-critical approach appears to be more relevant than ever today.