The German Association of Art Critics (AICA) has named the exhibition “Five Friends. John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly” the Exhibition of the Year for 2025.
The show ran from April 10 to August 17, 2025, at Museum Brandhorst in Munich, and from October 3, 2025, to January 11, 2026, at Museum Ludwig in Cologne. To decide the Exhibition of the Year, a five-member jury compiles a shortlist, from which the members’ assembly of AICA elects the winner by majority. Ulrike Lehmann, one of the nominators, regards the exhibition’s great merit as tracing the close connections among the five artists and their development, and, through the works, reflecting the social and political climate for queer people during the McCarthy era in a way that speaks to our present moment.
“It is a great joy and honor for me to receive this important award together with Achim Hochdörfer, director of Museum Brandhorst, and the respective curatorial teams in Cologne and Munich,” said Yilmaz Dziewior, director of Museum Ludwig and, together with Hochdörfer, curator of the show. “This recognition caps nearly four years of work that broadened the reception of these five artists’ work and made the dialogue between them tangible, while anchoring it in contemporary life through collaborations with music and dance ensembles.”
With the exhibition “Five Friends,” Museum Brandhorst highlighted a circle of gay artists who decisively shaped music, dance, and art in the postwar era. In close exchange, Cage, Cunningham, Johns, Rauschenberg, and Twombly forged unique connections across artistic genres and media. Featuring more than 180 artworks as well as scores, stage props, costumes, photographs, and archival materials, the show offered a glimpse into how the five artist friends interacted and influenced one another.
