Wolfgang Beltracchi presents 35 new paintings in his exhibition “Hamburg – Myths and History at the Gateway to the World”, exploring the historic, legendary, and identity-shaping narratives of the Hanseatic city. The series is both a tribute to Hamburg—where Beltracchi has developed a deep personal connection through numerous visits—and a reflection from the perspective of an outsider, a native Rhinelander approaching the city’s history and self-image with curious distance.

From Viking Raids to the Invention of the “Hamburger”
The exhibition spans key moments and myths in Hamburg’s history, from early Viking incursions and the Barbarossa legend to the story of Abelke Bleken, St. Michaelis Church, Operation Gomorrah, the 1962 flood disaster, the cultural revolution around the Star-Club, and even the invention of the “Hamburger.” Beltracchi does more than depict historical events; he examines the myths and collective memories that continue to shape the city’s identity.

Free Method Painting: A Multi-Stylistic Approach
Central to this body of work is Beltracchi’s “Free Method Painting” technique, in which he deliberately shifts between different art-historical styles, painting traditions, and formal visual languages. Each painting develops its own visual logic, drawing on the aesthetic possibilities of a specific era or artistic stance. The result is not mere illustration, but a layered reflection on how history is told, remembered, and interpreted through images.

Beyond Narrative: Image, Story, and Interpretation
The exhibition is not only a narrative exploration of Hamburg’s past. It investigates the relationship between image and storytelling, between historical event and artistic interpretation. The diversity of techniques, materials, and stylistic references turns the act of seeing itself into a central theme. Beltracchi invites viewers to experience the paintings not just as carriers of stories, but as independent visual worlds where historical memory, cultural identity, and art-historical tradition intersect.

The result is a panoramic vision of Hamburg that moves between documentation and imagination, between historiography and myth.