"Sweeter than honey. A panorama of Written Art" is the first major special exhibition at the Pinakothek der Moderne to focus on the museum’s extensive holdings of scriptural and text-based art. Spanning 1,200 square meters and featuring around 60 artistic positions, it presents writing as both medium and material from the mid-20th century to today. More than 100 works explore handwriting, calligraphy and typography in painting, photography and expansive installations, tracing a global and cross-generational dialogue. Inspired by Susan Hefuna’s work "Knowledge Is Sweeter Than Honey (Arabic)", the exhibition reflects on the poetic power of art to transform language, knowledge and even difficult words into something resonant and sensuous.
The exhibition brings together artists such as Rebecca Horn, Etel Adnan, Alighiero Boetti, Sophie Calle, Jenny Holzer, On Kawara, Glenn Ligon, Adam Pendleton, Ed Ruscha, and many others, highlighting fantasy alphabets, political quotations, poetic inscriptions and performative gestures. Accompanied by a bilingual publication from Hatje Cantz, it marks the culmination of a long-term collaboration with the Written Art Collection and is dedicated to the memory of Thomas Kellein (1955–2025). Talks, performances and additional events will accompany the show.
