Prague — A major retrospective at Kunsthalle Praha, And We’ll Never Be Parted, redefines the artistic partnership of the 20th-century Abstract painters Anna-Eva Bergman and Hans Hartung. The exhibition presents their work not as separate entities but as a lifelong conversation—one that thrived on both intimacy and independence.
“Mr Hartung became Mr Bergman and vice versa; we knew it was time for an exhibition”, notes curator Pierre Wot. Painting was their way of life, “Our exhibition is like a braid, interweaving two trajectories, two destinies and two bodies of work as they come together, again and again, yet never merge”.
“They were simultaneously very close and very independent,” says curator Theo Carnegy-Tan. “Their art emerged from shared fascinations—nature, the cosmos, music—yet each forged a radically distinct path.”
“Hartung’s fame has long overshadowed Bergman’s work. This exhibition finally grants her the recognition she deserves while revealing how deeply their practices informed one another.” – Christelle Havranek, chief curator at Kunsthalle Praha.
Bergman and Hartung first crossed paths in 1929 in Paris, and their whirlwind romance quickly blossomed into a relationship and marriage. It was a unique creative partnership. As they traversed Europe together—from Menorca to the cultural epicentres of Europe—their artistic dialogue flourished. Through decades of collaboration and independent exploration, they would ultimately emerge as one of modern art’s most formidable duos, their influence rivalling that of other legendary pairings, such as Sonia and Robert Delaunay or Sophie Taeuber-Arp.
They designed a home in Menorca, absorbed Europe’s landscapes, and developed their distinct visual languages—until their separation in 1937. The years apart were transformative: Hartung, wounded in World War II, turned to explosive, improvisational abstraction, while Bergman, returning to Norway, honed a meditative style inspired by geology, mythology, and the aurora borealis.
When they reunited in 1952, their bond had grown even deeper. Remarrying in 1957, they settled in Antibes, where side-by-side studios became crucibles of mutual inspiration. Hartung’s dynamic, gestural abstractions stand in stark contrast to Bergman’s luminous, geometric compositions. Where he captured movement in sweeping brushstrokes, she distilled landscapes into planes of metallic leaf and restrained line. Yet both were shaped by elemental forces—stone, water, fire—and a profound engagement with cosmic vastness. The exhibition traces this dialogue through over six decades of work, supplemented by personal letters, studio tools, and the artworks they gifted each other—a homage to creative reciprocity.
Produced in collaboration with the Fondation Hartung-Bergman in Antibes, the show draws on its extensive archives, offering fresh insights into one of the 20th century’s most significant artist couples. As two of postwar abstraction’s most singular voices, Bergman and Hartung forged their legacies through a rare alchemy of originality.
Anna-Eva Bergman’s studio was a chamber of creation—sheets of gold and silver leaf catching the Mediterranean light, her brushes tracing the memory of Norwegian fjords into geometric hymns. Each composition distilled landscapes into essential forms: horizons became razor-sharp lines, and mountains abstracted to pure metallic radiance. Her paintings pulsed with a quiet, almost sacred intensity—meditations on nature’s eternal structures.
Across the courtyard in their Antibes studio, Hans Hartung’s workspace told a different story. Canvases bore the scars of his tools—not just brushes, but rakes, sprays, improvised instruments attacking the surface with furious energy. His was a dance of gesture and accident, where lightning-strike marks recorded the body’s movement through time. The war had taught him the urgency of each painting, a battleground of control and surrender. Hartung was a prominent figure in the Art Informel movement, Europe’s response to Abstract Expressionism in New York. While Bergman had limited exposure for her work at this time.
Yet their practices were in harmony with one another. Bergman’s precision found counterpoint in Hartung’s chaos; his explosions of black ink mirrored her gold-leaf voids. They shared not a style but a heartbeat—the rhythm of two artists who understood that distance, sometimes, is the deepest form of connection.
This is an unmissable chance to see the work of two essential pioneers of Abstraction, side by side. The beautifully designed display is accompanied by a companion catalogue, co-published with Hatje Cantz, featuring essays by Carnegy-Tan, Pierre Wat, and leading scholars, ensuring this reappraisal extends beyond the gallery walls. Words/Photos © P C Robinson Artlyst 2025 — Artlyst ****
Anna-Eva Bergman & Hans Hartung: And We’ll Never Be Parted runs at Kunsthalle Praha from 2 April – 29 June 2025.