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Susan Hefuna, Mashrabiya - Knowledge Is Sweeter Than Honey (Arabic), 2011 Ink on wood, 220 × 240 x 2.5 cm Photo: Philipp Ottendörfer Courtesy Written Art Collection © Susan Hefuna
Susan Hefuna, Mashrabiya - Knowledge Is Sweeter Than Honey (Arabic), 2011
Ink on wood, 220 × 240 x 2.5 cm
Photo: Philipp Ottendörfer
Courtesy Written Art Collection
© Susan Hefuna

Special Exhibition

Sweeter than honey

A panorama of Written Art

Pinakothek der Moderne | Art
11.12.2025 — 12.04.2026
Rooms 21–26

Opening: WED 10 December, 7 p.m.

The Written Art Collection is unique in its profile. For the first time, the Modern Art Collection (Sammlung Moderne Kunst) in the Pinakothek der Moderne is dedicating a major special exhibition focussing on its holdings of works of scriptural and text-based art. More than 60 artistic positions invite visitors to engage with a 1,200-square-meter exhibition parcours that reveals a panorama of written art and encourages reflection on the reciprocal relationship between text and image. The selection presents writing as both an artistic medium and material from the mid-20th century to the present day. ‘Sweeter than Honey. A Panorama of Written Art’ highlights a dynamic socio-political dialogue between artists from a pancultural, global perspective. 
The exhibition title is inspired by the work ‘Knowledge Is Sweeter Than Honey (Arabic)’ (2011) from the Mashrabiya series by the Egyptian-German artist Susan Hefuna. Honey is a fluid, cross-cultural element and symbol of the sweetness of knowledge and wisdom. At the same time, the title also stands for the idea that bitter words can become “sweeter than honey” through art and poetry. It thus illustrates the poetic power of art to convey knowledge in a sensual way. 
 

The phenomenon of writing in images is explored through handwriting, calligraphy and typography. Starting with Art Informel in the 1950s, through conceptual art since the 1960s, the more than 100 works exhibited reveal the continuous significance of written art across generations and cultures up to this day. Artists invent fantasy alphabets and abstract sign languages, write poems and calendar entries, quote from literature and political documents, and translate thoughts and conversations into sprayed, graphic, gestural or embroidered messages. The performativity of writing can be experienced in material and physical traces in painting and photography as well as in expansive, large-scale works.

‘Sweeter than Honey. A Panorama of Written Art’ is the most comprehensive presentation of works in the Written Art Collection held to date and, as such, marks the culmination of a long-term cooperation cooperation with the Modern Art Collection in the Pinakothek der Moderne .

With works by Etel Adnan, Nasrollah Afjei, Maliheh Afnan, Khaled Al-Saai, Mounira Al Solh, Karel Appel, Siah Armajani, Younes Baba-Ali, Willi Baumeister, Alighiero Boetti, Peter Brüning, Sophie Calle, Chen Danqing, Claudia Comte, Thierry De Cordier, Christian Dotremont, Mohammad Ehsaei, Golnaz Fathi, Jilali Gharbaoui, Karl Otto Götz, Adolph Gottlieb, Katharina Grosse, Gu Wenda, Shilpa Gupta, Andreas Gursky, Hans Hartung, Susan Hefuna, Hans Hofmann, Jenny Holzer, Rebecca Horn, Dom Sylvester Houédard, Huang Rui, Yūichi Inoue, Alfredo Jaar, On Kawara, Franz Kline, Rachid Koraïchi, Glenn Ligon, Nja Mahdaoui, Mark Manders, Brice Marden, André Masson, Hassan Massoudy, Georges Mathieu, Henri Michaux, Joan Mitchell, Shiryū Morita, Farhad Moshiri, Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Adam Pendleton, Qiu Zhijie, Walid Raad, Ed Ruscha, Kazuo Shiraga, Pierre Soulages, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Fred Thieler, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Mark Tobey, Emilio Vedova, Lawrence Weiner, Fritz Winter.
A comprehensive bilingual publication in German and English will accompany the exhibition ‘Sweeter than Honey. A Panorama of Written Art’, published by Hatje Cantz (200 pages, 120 illustrations in colour; museum edition approx. 35 EUR, ISBN: 978-3-7757-6127-7).
Talks and performances will take place throughout the duration of the exhibition. A multifaceted programme of events will also be offered. Details to follow shortly.
Curated by Madeleine Freund and Oliver Kase in cooperation with Thomas Kellein and Marie-Kathrin Krimphoff (Written Art Collection)

In memory of Thomas Kellein (1955–2025), who had been curator of the Written Art Collection since 2013.

Selected Works in the exhibition

Adam Pendleton

Adam Pendleton

 Golnaz Fathi

Golnaz Fathi

 Mounira Al Solh

Mounira Al Solh

 Jenny Holzer

Jenny Holzer

 Rebecca Horn

Rebecca Horn

 Katharina Grosse

Katharina Grosse

 Susan Hefuna

Susan Hefuna

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