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Gabriele Münter: Contours of a World

exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum, New York

art
paintings
photography

Gabriele Münter — a German artist whose exhibition I stumbled upon at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
It was February 5, 2026, the day before my birthday. It was a beautiful snowy and sunny day; my plans for the day got canceled the moment I had already left the house. I didn’t feel like going back, but I didn’t want to make any complex plans either, so I decided to take a walk through Central Park like a typical New Yorker.

Walking along the Jacqueline Kennedy Reservoir, I watched squirrels running along the bare branches of trees, looking at me with curiosity, and me at them. Following one of the squirrels with my eyes, my gaze stopped on the peculiar and alluring building of the Guggenheim Museum.

Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Avenue New York

New York Central Park, Jacqueline Kennedy Reservoir

A minute later, I had already mentally decided that "I really want to go there" and headed in it’s direction.

But as a person who is quite flexible and led by my spontaneous thoughts, my route was slightly modified.
The first stop was not the museum, but the Church of the Heavenly Rest — I can’t say that I belong to any religion, but nevertheless, I like visiting temples and discovering new facets of society, culture, and architecture through them, coupled with positive vibrations — so, my five-minute stop in this particular church was no exception.

Church of the Heavenly Rest
1085 Fifth Avenue New York

It was surprisingly pleasant that the church was open and no one blocked my way; after saying hello to the local workers, I went inside and dissolved in a feeling of beauty, in a moment of contemplating high stone vaults and large stained-glass windows, neat rows of benches, and complete peace and silence, as there was no one there except me and the workers. I stared at all this magnificence and the power of architectural thought, and headed toward the museum; at that moment, organ music began to play, and this moment was unexpectedly beautiful and bright (I keep it in my heart to this day).

After walking for a couple of minutes through the frosty city, I entered the museum. That day, the main part of the museum was closed for an exhibition change, but as it turned out, there are other exhibition halls besides it. I took a ticket and, expecting nothing, headed there. As a layman should, I don’t read any labels in museums, and this time the situation was the same — I knew nothing about Gabriele Münter and didn't even know if it was a female name or a male one.

Christmas Still Life (Weihnachtsstillleben), 1908-09

As soon as I entered the hall, my eyes began to shine with new strength — the colors of the paintings were enchanting and captured my attention; the depth and simplicity of the plots gave off a sense of warmth and nostalgia, it felt as if the paintings I was seeing were dipping me straight into a carefree country summer, and I am 8 years old again.
I can’t say that I am an art expert, but that is not required. I believe that all art that is capable of evoking emotions and feelings is art — Gabriele, it seems, touched my heart and left her bright, colorful mark on it. I moved from painting to painting, sinking into these feelings deeper and deeper.

I like it when art is created not for the sake of art, when a painting/art is a continuation of life, when art is a kind of time capsule. I like looking at characters living their usual lives, their habitats — for me, it's akin to peeking through a keyhole, akin to plunging into a parallel reality and seeing thoughts (as if it's something floating in the atmosphere, as if it's a reading of the vibe and the inner space of the paintings). Gabriele uses very saturated colors, but at the same time, they do not cause any rejection, but on the contrary, attract with their naturalness and depth.

Portrait of Anna Roslund (Buldnis Anna Roslund), 1917

In the Garden in Murnau (Im Garten in Murnau), 1911

Head of a Young Girl (Junges Mädchen), 1908

Little Dietrich (Kleine Dietrich), 1908

Breakfast of the Birds (Das Frühstück der Vögel), 1934

From the Griesbräu Window (Vom Griesbräu Fenster), 1908

Walking through the floors of the museum, I thought about how Gabriele's paintings could become an excellent reference for color-blocking, a technique that is trending again these days, especially in the fashion world. Honestly, looking at the complementary (vibrant and contrasting) colors the artist chooses, you get infected by this aesthetic and want to transfer it to your everyday life — starting from clothes and phone wallpaper, ending with food on the plate and a state of mind.

The Blue Blouse (Mrs. Oscar Oison) (Dieblaue Bluse [Frau Oscar Olson]), 1917

The Blue Lake (Der blaue See), 1954

The Blue Gable (Der blaue Giebel), 1911

So, looking at the paintings and photographs, an hour or two flew by in the museum. Leaving through the souvenir shop, I couldn't help but buy a book about the work of this artist, thereby taking a small part of her to my home and gaining the opportunity to return to her work again and again.

And after the museum, I stopped by Bluestone Lane coffee shop, drank a wonderful coffee, filled out the postcards I bought, and ate a chicken sandwich, after which I walked for groceries and home.

This day was completely spontaneous and so alive. I would like for you to have the opportunity to live a similar day too. So that you too are lucky enough, in the unpredictability of the veil of life, to make such spontaneous outings that are stored somewhere deep in the cortex of memories and rewrite you as a person on a cellular level, adding a small puzzle piece to the large picture of your personality.

peace out,
elena volkova