Anna-Eva Bergman & Hans Hartung: And We’ll Never Be Parted

Anna-Eva Bergman & Hans Hartung: And We’ll Never Be Parted  

5/6 2025—13/10 2025
Gallery 1 & 2 

Curators: Theo Carnegy-Tan (Kunsthalle Praha), Pierre Wat (Fondation Hartung-Bergman)

In collaboration with Christelle Havranek (Chief Curator at Kunsthalle Praha) and Thomas Schlesser (Director of the Fondation Hartung-Bergman)  

The exhibition And We’ll Never Be Parted sheds new light on one of the most singular and quietly radical artist couples of the 20th century. The art of Anna-Eva Bergman and Hans Hartung will be presented together in a major exhibition exploring the full scope of their intertwined lives and artistic practices. The exhibition brings together over 300 pieces—landmark paintings, rarely seen sketches, photographs, studio objects, personal artefacts, correspondence and artworks the couple gifted each other. Co-curated by Theo Carnegy-Tan and Pierre Wat, and realised in collaboration with the Fondation Hartung-Bergman, the exhibition offers an intimate insight into a decades-long artistic dialogue shaped by separation, reunion, and lasting creative kinship.

During the exhibition, visitors will have access to a multilingual audioguide created in collaboration between Kunsthalle Praha and the Cabinet of Wonders platform.

The intertwined lives of Anna-Eva Bergman (1909-1987) and Hans Hartung (1904-1989) are unique in the history of twentieth century artist couples. Their careers covered a first meeting in 1920s Paris, a separation in 1937, the Second World War, and a final reunion in 1952. Despite their closeness they remained totally singular in their styles, constantly sharpening each other’s artistic approaches.  

It is this interplay of difference and commonality that this exhibition explores. Bergman and Hartung closely share the same sources of inspiration: the natural elements, the far reaches of the cosmos, and the language of music, but each interprets them in an inimitable way. Though ultimately different, the two painters often cross paths in fruitful intersections that form a shared place; somewhere to live together, in painting.  

Organised in cooperation with Fondation Hartung-Bergman, this exhibition places these artists together in dialogue for the first time ever. Alongside masterpieces from major turning points in their careers, never before seen sketches and archival material enrich our view into their worlds, including photographs, studio equipment, correspondences, and mutual gifts.   

Anna-Eva Bergman & Hans Hartung: And We’ll Never Be Parted opens on 5 June 2025, and is accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue with contributions by Theo Carnegy-Tan, Pierre Wat, Thomas Schlesser, Pauline Mari, Catherine Millet, and Camille Morineau.  

PROGRAMME FOR THE EXHIBITION

EXHIBITION MATERIALS

GALLERY

CATALOGUE

ANNA-EVA BERGMAN & HANS HARTUNG: AND WE'LL NEVER BE PARTED

This catalogue accompanies the first major retrospective exhibition of artist couple Anna-Eva Bergman and Hans Hartung. Bergman (1909–1987), who was of Swedish-Norwegian origin, was a pioneering abstract artist who drew deep inspiration from landscapes and natural forms. Hartung (1904–1989), born in Germany, was crucial in the development of what came to be known as gestural or informal art.

EXHIBITION PARTNERS

Kunsthalle Praha extends its thanks to its partners The Pudil Family Foundation and My Clinic.

The exhibition is held under the honorary patronage of the Embassy of France in the Czech Republic.