An art gallery in the German city of Mannheim was within its legal rights to dismantle an art installation during renovation work, Germany highest criminal court ruled Thursday.

The Federal Court of Justice rejected an appeal by artist Nathalie Braun Barends, whose works were removed when a wing of the Kunsthalle Mannheim was gutted and renovated.

The two works in question were built into the structure of the gallery — "HHole" consisted of holes running through seven stories of the Kunsthalle and "PHaradise" was a light installation which moved through the dome and wings.

The German artist argued the dismantling of her work was in breach of artistic copyright

The artist argued that this was a violation of copyright. But the court ruled that although artists have the right to prevent the destruction of their work, Braun Barends' installations formed part of the walls and roof and for this reason, the gallery had the right to choose what to do with them.

Read more: Art, what is it good for? Top German court set to decide

The court also said the Kunsthalle had not violated copyright laws because it had carried out a "comprehensive weighing of the interests of the author and the owner."

It referred the case for €66,000 ($75,000) in remuneration back to the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court, where it had previously been rejected.

Ownership and copyright remain controversial issues, especially for installation artists whose works are dependent on locations which they do not own.

Read more: German culture minister defends controversial art law

11 renowned female artists based in Germany Natascha Sadr Haghighian Natascha Sadr Haghighian will represent Germany at the 2019 Venice Biennale. Shown here wearing a stone mask at a press conference for the upcoming art show, she will go by the name of Natascha Süder Happelmann for the event. The artist, a two-time Documenta participant, often plays with the notion of identity. She created for instance a website allowing people to swap parts of each other's CVs.

11 renowned female artists based in Germany Anne Imhof Anne Imhof became the star of the 2017 Venice Biennale with her performance piece "Faust" in the German pavilion, which won her the Golden Lion award. The mammoth work dealt with the themes of power and powerlessness, arbitrary violence, resistance and freedom. She has been commissioned to recreate the piece at London's Tate Modern museum in March 2019.

11 renowned female artists based in Germany Hito Steyerl German-Japanese video artist Hito Steyerl represented Germany in 2015 at the Venice Biennale. She was the first woman to be ranked number one in ArtReview's "Power 100," the magazine's list of the most powerful people in the art world. Her influential work deals with surveillance, military confrontation and the entanglement of corporations.

11 renowned female artists based in Germany Rosemarie Trockel Rosemarie Trockel gained renown through numerous international exhibitions. Her work often integrates knitted fabrics or black electric hotplates dotting colored surfaces, a reference to stereotypical depictions of the housewife and an ironic homage to the dots used by different Pop Art artists.

11 renowned female artists based in Germany Katharina Fritsch Designed to carry statues of British historical figures, London's Trafalgar Square has a plinth at each of its four corners. Since 1999, the fourth plinth has been showcasing different works of art on a temporary basis. German sculptor Katharina Fritsch's giant blue cockerel, "Hahn / Cock," was on display there in 2013. The artist is renowned for her large-scale, monochromatic sculptures.

11 renowned female artists based in Germany Isa Genzken A 2013 retrospective of Isa Genzken's work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York cemented the sculptor's international reputation. She had previously participated in different art shows including the Documenta and the Sculpture Projects Münster. Her early works deal with the ideals of modern architecture; since the 2000s, she has created apocalyptic installations made of cheap materials.

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11 renowned female artists based in Germany Rebecca Horn Rebecca Horn is a pioneering female artist in Germany: She was the first woman to become a professor at the Berlin University of Arts in 1989, as well as the first to be awarded the prestigious Goslar Kaiser Ring Award in 1992. A year later, she also became the first female artist to have a retrospective at New York's Guggenheim Museum.

11 renowned female artists based in Germany Alicja Kwade The Berlin-based artist Alicja Kwade was born in Poland. Her installations often include stones, glass, chains, mirrors and clocks. A recent piece at the Berliner Galerie consisted of a huge clock swinging from the ceiling on a chain — a memorably hypnotic work.

11 renowned female artists based in Germany Katharina Sieverding She was one of the first artists to create large-format portraits that openly featured image manipulation. Sieverding was awarded the Käthe Kollwitz Prize in 2017. Her work questions the artistic, political and social conditions behind the production and the reception of art.

11 renowned female artists based in Germany Haegue Yang The Seoul-born Berlin-based artist has held exhibitions throughout the world. For her installations transforming everyday objects into surreal associative works, she often uses materials from the hardware store or household items. At the Documenta 13, she revealed Venetian blinds that moved on their own, making strange sounds. Haegue Yang's pieces are filled with poetry and humor. Author: Sabine Oelze (eg)



nn/rt (dpa, AFP)

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