A detail image of an artwork, showing a large orange circle on a dark blue background.

The Painting Takes Over: Alice Berger Hammerschlag

A celebration of the life and work of Alice Berger Hammerschlag.

Date
Friday 23rd October to Autumn 2027
Time
10:00 to 17:00 (Closed Mondays)

Arriving in the north of Ireland from Vienna on a graphic design permit as a refugee of Nazi persecution in 1938, Alice Berger Hammerschlag (1917-1969) went on to become a central force of Belfast’s artistic landscape, both as an artist and curator. This exhibition explores Berger Hammerschlag’s position as one of Ireland’s first abstract expressionists through the collection of work held by the Ulster Museum.

This exhibition will be on display in Spotlight Art.

Works on Display

An abstract painting. Lines of blues, yellows, and greens are spalshed across a canvas.
'Untitled', BELUM.U5065
An abstract painting. In a circle, paints of reds and oranges have been brushed and dabbed on, with messy edges. A slight blue can be seem in the top of the loose-circle.
'Untitled', BELUM.U5063
An abstract painting. On a white canvas, a large watercolour brush has been applied in black moving into orange. The paint has been allowed to drip in multiple directions, meaning we can see grid-like paint at the edge of a the large paint streak. Underneath we can see bright and dark blues.
'Yeats's Hourglass' (1961), BELUM.U5064
An abstract painting. Lines of blues, yellows, and greens are spalshed across a canvas.
'Untitled', BELUM.U5065

Who was Alice Berger Hammerschlag?

Alice Berger was born in Vienna in 1917, and studied at the Vienna School of Applied Arts and the Academy of the Arts. In 1938, she came to Northern Ireland on a graphic design permit as a refugee of Nazi persecution. Initially living in Newtownards, she worked as a commercial artist in book illustration and textiles.

From 1963 – 1969 she was the director of the Lyric Players' New Gallery on Grosvenor Road. Here, she championed many local artists by giving them their first solo shows. She was incredibly involved in the Lyric theatre, designing sets and working closely with Helen Lewis who choreographed a dance inspired by her painting.

On the 14 July 1969, Berger Hammerschlag died in Belfast, having painted up to the end.

The Alice Berger-Hammerschlag Trust was founded in 1969 by the painter Derek Hill (1916-2000) as a fund to help young artists in Ireland, It is administered by Belfast School of Art, supporting Masters students in their practice. 

An abstract painting showing a circle with layers of red, yellow, green, and blue.

Never Static

Read the blog "Never static: Alice Berger Hammerschlag, the Austrian painter central to Belfast art", written by Curator of Art Anna Liesching and published on Art UK.