Alongside major highlights less well-known works of the collection are shown to reveal the depth and particularity of the collection. Artistic trends are traced in chronological order.

Colourful, expressive works by Cobra artists like Appel, Jorn and Corneille are followed by those from Fontana, Manzoni, Uecker, Piene and Schoonhoven, whose sober white works, built up from textures, play with light and shadow. With their minimal forms, objects by Judd and Andre dominate the museum space, while paintings by Immendorff, Penck and Polke focus on the possibilities of painting. Each space features a certain period, a new aspect in art, or the work of individual artists like Beuys, Daniëls or Gordon. In the show contrasts and incongruities are made visible and sharpen our current view of art of the last half century