COSIMA VON BONIN
7000 PALMEN

June 7, – September 28, 2025

A Work of Art for Everyone
As part of the 70th anniversary of documenta, the Fridericianum is presenting an extraordinary project by the artist Cosima von Bonin. It centers around creativity, community, and festive moments but also around references to the history of art and documenta, as well as social interaction. A key element here is bunting or pennant chains especially created for the Fridericianum by the Mombasa-born artist (1962), who now lives in Cologne. Unlike conventional versions of these festive adornments, von Bonin’s little flags are not triangular in shape. Instead, they display the silhouette of a palm tree, a recurrent feature of the artist’s language of form which appears, for instance, in her more recent paintings.

All residents of Kassel—children, young people, and adults—were invited to join together to decorate their city with the pennant chains. For this purpose, the art loving Fridericianum visitors were able to pick up their own copy of the edition in the foyer of the Kunsthalle free of charge. In addition, the 7000 Palmen will be brought into the public space together with schools, cooperation partners, and other stakeholders. In this way, as many people as possible will be able to participate in this unusual art project and new forms of encounter between art and the neighborhood will take place.

Homage to Beuys and Buren
Art in the public space has a long tradition in Kassel, not least because of documenta. Joseph Beuys’s work 7000 Eichen—Stadtverwaldung statt Stadtverwaltung (7000 Oaks—Urban Forestation instead of Urban Administration), in particular, has had a lasting impact on the northern Hessian metropolis and, as early as the 1980s, found its own answer to how art in the urban space can contribute to improving the quality of life of all residents by means of aesthetics and ecology. The artist Joseph Beuys, who was born in Krefeld in 1921 and died in Düsseldorf in 1986, began this social sculpture—that is, a work of art that aims to influence, change, or shape society—at documenta 7 (1982). In a process spanning five years, 7,000 trees were planted, each accompanied by a basalt stele—a slowly growing intervention within the fabric of the city that still shapes it even today.

In addition to this humorous and respectful homage to Joseph Beuys, Cosima von Bonin’s intervention also refers to a work by Daniel Buren: the installation Wimpel-Text-Musik by the artist, who was born in Boulogne-Billancourt in 1938 and now lives in Paris, was also presented at documenta 7 (1982). For the first time, Buren used a large number of classic pennant chains with his trademark 8.7-centimeter-wide stripe painted on the flags. These were strung across the Friedrichsplatz in front of the Fridericianum, accompanied by a selection of classical music. Buren used the festive decoration again in 1997 as part of his contribution to the Skulptur Projekte Münster with the temporary work Travail in situ, Münster as a working basis—an installation of designed pennant chains on Prinzipalmarkt.

The Palm Tree as a Symbol—between Everyday Life and World History
Cosima von Bonin uses the stylized shape of a palm tree for her garlands—a motif with a multilayered meaning. Scarcely no other plant is so symbolically charged, across centuries and through the most diverse cultures. Since ancient times, the palm tree and palm branch have stood for peace, eternity, joy, and wisdom in political and religious contexts, as well as for victory, wealth, and abundance. In Western cultures today, the palm tree is a symbol of wanderlust, longing for an idealized “South,” and the luxury of relaxation in distant lands. In regions where palm trees grow naturally, on the other hand, they stand for identity, home, and economic prosperity, and they characterize the urban environment, cuisine, and everyday life. In addition, von Bonin’s depiction refers to visual codes of pop culture, advertising, nightlife, fashion, and the queer world.

Art in the Urban Space: A Project that Connects
The use of contoured outlines—often borrowed from cartoons, comics or animal figures—runs through the artist’s entire oeuvre: sometimes fragmented like Mickey Mouse’s white gloves, sometimes abstracted like a Rorschach test. Whether collaged fabric pictures, oversized items of clothing, wall hangings, or sculptures reminiscent of soft toys or designer bags, textiles are a central medium in von Bonin’s work. With the pennant chain, she lifts this part of her practice out of the exhibition context and leaves the institution. Through the intervention in the urban space, a temporary palm forest grows in Kassel. This spatial opening and the diverse references and thematic fields of 7000 Palmen create special conditions for an extensive accompanying program consisting of workshops, actions, lectures, performances, and concerts. These formats facilitate encounters and exchange: they can bring us together, inspire our ingenuity and creativity, and perhaps even make a difference in society. Von Bonin’s pennants invite us to celebrate art, community, connection, and creativity—and maybe even get to know our neighbors a little better while festooning the street.

About Cosima von Bonin
Von Bonin is one of the influential figures of her generation. She took part in documenta 12 in 2007 and the Biennale di Venezia in 2022. Her work has garnered international acclaim through institutional solo exhibitions, such as at Kunsthaus Bregenz (2010), Museum Ludwig in Cologne (2011), MUMOK—Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien (2014), SculptureCenter in New York (2016), and Mudam—Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean in Luxembourg (2024).

The artistic intervention is being realized with the generous support of the Leinemann-Stiftung für Bildung und Kunst, the Stiftung Stark für Gegenwartskunst, the Karin und Uwe Hollweg Stiftung, the cdw Stiftung, the Kasseler Sparkasse, the City Kaufleute Kassel e. V., the Gerhard-Fieseler-Stiftung, and the Kasseler Kunstverein.

Media partner of the artistic intervention is Hessische/Niedersächsische Allgemeine (HNA).