Extreme Tension. Art between Politics and Society (1945–2000)

In 1970 Günter Brus let steel cables pull at his body until he reached his physical limit, and called the performance Zerreißprobe. It gives this whole floor its name.

This is the Nationalgalerie's own post-war collection, East and West hung together in 14 sections, from realism and abstraction to Pop, feminism and ecology. Barnett Newman's Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue IV shares the floor with GDR painters like Wolfgang Mattheuer and Willi Sitte. Mixing the two collections caused uproar in 1993; in the Tagesspiegel, Bernhard Schulz called this rehang a great success and asked who would still mind finding a Sitte next to a Warhol. You'll also meet women artists from both sides, whom Hyperallergic singled out.

The collection ticket is €14 (€7 reduced), or €20 for the whole museum, and Thursdays run until 20:00. Hanne Darboven's Sunrise Sunset leaves on 19 October, and the Rebecca Horn and "Fleeting Identities" rooms close on 26 October. A free audio walk can be downloaded or borrowed on site.