Gallery in the Elysee
In our Elysée gallery, contemporary figurative painting from northern Germany has been exhibited and promoted in a changing programme of exhibitions since 1985. After as many as 140 exhibitions, patron and collector Christa Block has created a greatly respected forum for the promotion of art in Hamburg and beyond. The gallery presents a convincing range of stylistic and thematic positions and thus pays tribute to the important traditions of realism in northern Germany in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Current Exhibition
About Life
Exhibition: July 8 – September 17, 2025
The Artists
Hanna Petermann and Ulf Petermann
For over 50 years, painter Ulf Petermann has explored the human form—its questions, its movement, its rhythm—within space and time. His atmospheric landscapes, deeply rooted in the Nordic environment, reflect a poetic unity between man and nature. In his most recent works, he turns his gaze toward the pulse of urban life, capturing the energy of the modern city.
His daughter, Hanna Petermann, follows a creative path of her own. After a distinguished career as a musician with the Bremen Philharmonic, she found her artistic voice in painting. Her work, too, is centered on people—fellow musicians and everyday individuals whose stories echo through intimate objects: a pair of children’s shoes, a quiet moment, a gesture remembered.
Though their subjects range from still lifes to cityscapes, both father and daughter share a refined minimalism—an instinct for the essential, expressed through carefully balanced compositions and subtle, thoughtful use of color.
Elysee Prize
The “Elysée Prize for Painting” to promote young talent from the region is endowed with €10,000 and has already been awarded 12 times to students at north German universities. An independent jury consisting of artists, art historians and cultural journalists decides on the winner of the award. On the occasion of the award ceremony, submitted works are shown during an exhibition at the Galerie im Elysée.
After the Elysée Prize exhibition, works are purchased and included in the Block Collection. They are shown permanently in the corridors on the fifth floor of the Grand Elysée Hamburg and can be viewed there. A summary of earlier Elysée winners can also be found here.