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Josef Albers Museum Quadrat Bottrop

Exhibitions & Museums

Robert Smithson in Europe

September 27, 2025, through April 19, 2026 (extended)

The Josef Albers Museum Quadrat Bottrop presents one of the most important American artists of the 1960s and 1970s in detail in the local context of the Ruhr region. The exhibition in Bottrop brings together Robert Smithson's artistic production in the Netherlands, Italy, Great Britain, and Germany for the first time and pays special attention to the Rhineland and the Ruhr region.

Robert Smithson, „Broken Circle / Spiral Hill“ (1971), Emmen, The Netherlands, „Broken Circle“, Water, sand, and boulder, Diameter: 140 ft. (42.6 m); canal: 12 ft. (3.6 m) wide, 10-15 ft. (3-4.5 m) deep, „Spiral Hill“, Earth, topsoil, sand, Diameter: 75 ft. (22.9 m) at base © Holt/Smithson Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025

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"Robert Smithson in Europe" includes significant works from international museums and from the collection of the Holt/Smithson Foundation, including the 1969 works "Heerlen Soil and Mirrors", "Essen Soil and Mirrors", "Chalk-MirrorDisplacement", and works relating to the 1971 earthwork "BrokenCircle/Spiral Hill".

*Robert Smithson creating „Mirror Displacement on a Compost Heap“ (1969), For „Prospect 69“, Düsseldorf, Germany, Photograph: Nancy Holt © Holt/Smithson Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025*

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Photo below or top right:

Robert Smithson, „Asphalt Rundown“ (1969), Rome, Italy, Sculptural event: Asphalt and earth © Holt/Smithson Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025‍

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