Pictured upon its opening in 1968, and fronted by a sculpture by Henry Moore, the Neue Nationalgalerie soon became an icon of modernist architecture. Former Bauhaus director Ludwig Mies van der Rohe then lived in the US, making this his only postwar building in Europe. The museum houses an extensive collection of 20th-century art masterpieces, and was shut in 2015 for an extensive refurbishment.

Begun in 2015, the meticulous renovation of the Neue Nationalgalerie was undertaken by David Chipperfield Architects, also behind the restoration of the Neues Museum in the German capital. Learning from the refurbishment of other Mies buildings in the US, the original design and materials were preserved as much as possible, despite the building having been stripped to its core.

The heritage-listed museum has been completely renewed inside and out, but without compromising the iconic structure's original appearance. Roughly 35,000 original building components were restored or modified to contemporary standards and then returned to their exact original position. New features include air conditioning, a cafe and museum shop, and improved access for people with disabilities.

The museum's collection includes many 20th-century masterpieces, and a selection of 250 artworks are part of an exhibition now opening, "The Art of Society, 1900 – 1945." Among them is "The Skat Players" by Otto Dix, from 1920. The classic Dadaist collage dwells on the carnage of World War I, the faces of the card-playing soldiers having been horribly disfigured in battle.

Another exhibition at the reopened museum is dedicated to Alexander Calder (1898 – 1976). The US modernist sculptor is already closely associated with the museum, as "Têtes et Queue" (1965) — which is now one of his best-known monumental public sculptures — was installed at the Neue Nationalgalerie for the inauguration of Mies' temple of art.

Back in 2005, Italian conceptual artist Vanessa Beecroft created one of the most infamous performances within the vast glass Neue Nationalgalerie atrium. Featuring 100 women aged between 18 and 65 wearing nothing but see-through pantyhose, "VB55" was sold as three photographic prints and constitutes one of the most seminal images of artistic invention within Mies' grand art house.

German band Kraftwerk performed their piece "Radioactivity" during a concert at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin in January 6, 2015, soon before it shut for renovations. The electronic music pioneers kicked off eight nights of concerts with a multimedia performance of their classic albums, including "Autobahn."

Gerhard Richter’s four-part monumental work "Birkenau," based on photographs secretly taken by a Jewish prisoner in the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp in August 1944, will be presented at the newly renovated Neue Nationalgalerie from 2023. The famed artist (seen with the works above in Baden-Baden in 2016), never wanted his "Birkenau" series to land on the art market.

Gerhard Richter's "Birkenau" series will be followed by 100 other works from the artist's foundation at the Neue Nationalgalerie. But after 2026 they will move next door to a sister gallery now under construction, the much-anticipated Museum der Moderne (pictured). Here, Richter will join select artists including Rebecca Horn and Joseph Beuys to have a dedicated exhibition floor.

After completing the €110 million ($133 million) overhaul, David Chipperfield Architects symbolically handed over the building keys to the federal organization managing the museum, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, on April 29. The public now again has the pleasure of looking out from the renewed museum towards Potsdamer Platz from August, and to view its modern masterpieces.

The Museum of Modern Literature in Marbach, opened in June 2006, sits on a rock plateau overlooking the Neckar River valley in the birthplace of legendary writer-poet Friedrich Schiller. Chipperfield fluently interwove elegant motifs of classical architecture with contemporary design. The museum plays with perspectives and vistas, contrasting daylight and artificial light.

In 2003, reconstruction and renovation work began on the Neues Museum in Berlin according to Chipperfield's plans. Together with the architect Julian Harap, the British architect developed the concept of "supplementary restoration" in which the substance of the original was preserved. Closed for decades, it was reopened in 2009.

In 2010, the Folkwang Museum in Essen opened the new David Chipperfield wing. It comprises six pavilions that complement the original museum building, which stands under historical preservation. With its huge pale green front made of recycled glass, the cubic structure radiates tranquillity.

The new Turner Contemporary Gallery opened in 2011 in Margate on the Kent coast in southeastern England. The art gallery has played a key role in the city's revitalization. The once pulsating seaside resort was coming to terms with a sharp drop in visitor numbers and falling investment. The building aimed to attract new visitors and makes a lasting impact on the cityscape

Redesigned in 2012 as part of an inner city development project in Wakefield, England, the old harbor quarters was supplemented with a new David Chipperfield museum building for the Hepworth Museum. Flanked by water on two sides, the building nestled on the banks of the Calder River consists of 10 trapezoidal concrete hexahedra of different sizes.

"Veles e Vents" — sail and wind — is the name of a Chipperfield building in the port of the Spanish city of Valencia. Erected in 2006 on the occasion of arguably the most important sailing race in the world, the "America's Cup," the building with clear ocean views is designed to resemble a sailboat.

The Museo delle Culture (MUDEC) in Milan has been uniting the Archaeological Museum, a marionette workshop, a film school and a center for non-European cultures since the beginning of 2015. David Chipperfield's renovation of the building, which formerly was a place for industrial workers, includes a glazed inner courtyard around which the exhibition rooms open up.

The Museo Jumex in Mexico City has been home to more than 2,000 exhibits by international, Mexican and Latin American artists since 2014. Founded in 2001, Eugenio Lopez's private collection focuses on contemporary art. The museum building is based on 14 supports, which merges the surrounding public plaza with the ground floor.

Opened in 2019, the James Simon Gallery became the centerpiece of Berlin's Museum Island as it provided direct access to the Pergamon Museum and the Neues Museum. The Berlin office of David Chipperfield Architects oversaw the design and construction phase, which lasted ten years. "The exciting and difficult thing about the project was understanding what it should be," explained Chipperfield.

Despite its name, this museum is not situated in Hamburg, but in Berlin, in the former terminus of the Hamburg-Berlin Railway. The building was renovated in the 1990s to house Erich Marx's private collection of contemporary art, which includes works by Joseph Beuys, Anselm Kiefer and Andy Warhol. Focusing on art since 1960, the museum is run by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.

Berlin actually already has two museums of modern art. Mies van der Rohe designed this architectural icon that has been undergoing renovation since 2015. Nevertheless, the building is too small for the National Museum's inventory of contemporary art. A planned extension would be linked to the main building via underground walkways.

Impressionism, Expressionism, Surrealism — in 1902 the Folkwang Museum was a pioneer of modern art. The Nazis removed about 1,400 works they saw as "degenerate art," some of which were repurchased after the war. The collection includes works by Jackson Pollock, Günther Uecker and Georg Baselitz. The new museum, designed by David Chipperfield and financed by the Krupp Foundation, opened in 2010.

The glass cube located right on Schlossplatz square has been an integral part of Stuttgart's city center since 2005. During the day, the façade reflects its surroundings and at night, the illuminated interior highlight the limestone walls. In addition to contemporary art, the museum houses an important Otto Dix collection.

This museum houses four collections — modern art, works on paper, architecture and design — under one roof. The modern art section offers a wide array of works and styles, including by 20th-century German artist groups Die Brücke and Der Blauer Reiter. The collection has about 20,000 works that have been steadily established since 1945 thanks to donations, acquisitions and foundations.

The gallery is part of the Hamburger Kunsthalle that presents collections from the Middle Ages onwards in three buildings. What makes it special is that artists helped shape the interior of the five-story cube. Jenny Holzer's "Ceiling Snake" shines over a staircase, and Bogomir Ecker's stalactite machine spans all floors.

The collection that started out with the purchase of two August Macke paintings in 1949 has grown to about 9,000 works. The focus has always been on a manageable number of outstanding artists whose works are presented in spacious rooms — thanks to a new building in 1992, designed by Axel Schultes. At the time, the flowing spatial concept set new standards in museum construction.

The purchase of 88 Paul Klee works in 1961 marked the start of the collection, which has been added to ever since. The museum soon threatened to burst at the seams, so a new building, the K20, opened in 1986. That space became too small as well, so a second addition came in 2002: the K21, in the former North Rhine-Westphalia parliamentary building.

Cologne is home to the third-largest Picasso exhibition and the largest pop art collection in Europe. Many of the latter works were gifted by collectors Irene and Peter Ludwig. Initially, the building also housed a classic picture gallery, but since 2001, the approximately 8,000 square meters are reserved for contemporary art.

The Schirn does not have its own collection but instead presents changing exhibitions of international renown, for instance thematic shows on political art, the wilderness or artist self-portraits. The word "Schirn" is Old High German and means "open sales stand." The museum was built in Frankfurt's old town, an area that was destroyed in WWII.

The museum goes back to chocolate manufacturer and patron of the arts Bernhard Sprengel. He collected works of German Expressionism and French Modernism, and donated his considerable collection to his hometown of Hannover. The museum opened in 1979 and has been expanding ever since. In 2015, Alice Aycock's sculpture, "Another Twister," was installed in front of the building, welcoming visitors.