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Christian Saehrendt (born 29 January 1968 in Kassel) is a German Art Historian.
Life
Saehrendt studied Fine Arts at Hamburger Hochschule für bildende Künste, later History and Art History (focused on 19th and 20th centuries) at Humboldt-Universität Berlin and at Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg. In Heidelberg he also received his Ph.D. in 2002 with a work about the Expressionist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Since 1989 Christian is cooperating with his friend Steen T. Kittl. Between 1994 und 2000 they both ran the non-profit-gallery and artist group New Decency (Neue Anständigkeit) in Berlin. Since 2007 Saehrendt and Kittl wrote five monographs about Art and recent cultural phenomenas. They gave numerous lectures, interviews and readings in universities, schools and medias like radio oder TV.Since 2002 Christian is writing exhibition reviews for Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Besides his books for a wider audience Christian Saehrendt is continuing his work as a scholar, regarding the issues Art history and culture of the 20th century (specially Expressionism, political monuments, art in GDR); Art and sociology, Art as a political tool or weapon (politics of collecting, cultural exchange and art exhibitions as parts of diplomatic strategies, Art as tool of nation building).
Publications
General Monographs
Kassel. Ist das Kunst oder kann das weg? Documenta-Geschichten, Mythen und Märchen, DuMont Köln 2012. (German bestseller list 2012)
Blamage! Geschichte der Peinlichkeit, Bloomsbury Berlin 2012.
Alles Bluff. Wie wir zu Hochstaplern werden, ohne es zu wollen. Oder vielleicht doch? (with Steen T. Kittl), Heyne München 2011. (Korean translation.)
Geier am Grabe van Goghs ...und andere häßliche Geschichten aus der Welt der Schönen Künste (with Steen T. Kittl), DuMont Köln 2010.
Was will Kunst? (with Steen T. Kittl), Campus Frankfurt 2009. Korean (Republic of Korea) and Chinese (Taiwan) translation).
Das sagt mir was! Sprachführer Deutsch-Kunst/Kunst-Deutsch (with Steen T. Kittl), DuMont Köln 2008.
Das kann ich auch! Gebrauchsanweisung für moderne Kunst (with Steen T. Kittl), DuMont Köln 2007. German bestseller list 2007. Turkish, Chinese (Taiwan and People's Republic) and Spanish translation. New German edition 2013.
(Novel) Die radikale Absenz des Ronny Läpplinger, Walde+Graf Zürich 2011.
Scholarship - Monographs and Essays (selection)
Kunst als Botschafter einer künstlichen Nation. Studien zur Rolle der Bildenden Kunst in der Auswärtigen Kulturpolitik der DDR, Steiner Stuttgart 2009. (Series Pallas Athene. Beiträge zur Universitäts- und Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Vol. 27, Rüdiger vom Bruch and Eckart Henning, eds.) Reviewed in German History 4/2011 by Jonathan Osmond; The American Historical Revue April/2010 by Benita Blessing; Journal of Cold War Studies 3/2010 by Roger Kanet; Revue de L'art, 1/2010 by Mathilde Arnaux (French); H-German 9/2009 by April A. Eisman (online).
Der Stellungskrieg der Denkmäler. Kriegerdenkmäler im Berlin der Zwischenkriegszeit, Dietz Bonn 2004. (Series: Politik- und Gesellschaftsgeschichte der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Michael Schneider and Dieter Dowe, eds). Reviewed in German History 2/2006 by Tim Grady.
Die Kunst der „Brücke“ zwischen Staatskunst und Verfemung. Expressionistische Kunst als Politikum in der Weimarer Republik, im „Dritten Reich“ und im Kalten Krieg, Steiner Stuttgart 2005. (Series Pallas Athene. Beiträge zur Universitäts- und Wissenschaftsgeschichte,Vol. 13, Rüdiger vom Bruch and Eckart Henning, eds). Reviewed in German History 2/2007 by Elizabeth Janik; Revue del I'art 4/2006 by Mathilde Arnoux (French).
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: Bohème-Identität und nationale Sendung, Peter Lang Frankfurt 2003.