Deutsche Bank to Close Berlin Exhibition Space PalaisPopulaire

Deutsche Bank will close its PalaisPopulaire exhibition space in Berlin in November 2026, just eight years after opening. The bank will not renew its lease with billionaire Mathias Döpfner, owner of the building on Unter den Linden. The collection of over 50,000 works will move out by end of 2026. Spokesperson Klaus Winker cited a reorientation of cultural engagement and financial reasons. The bank plans to focus more on young artists, continuing its Artist of the Year prize (launched 2010, expanded 2021). The closing exhibition features Slovak artist Lucia Tallová (b. 1985), winner of the 2026 prize, selected by a jury including Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, directors of Hamburger Bahnhof. Deutsche Bank will create a new support program for Berlin's young art scene and maintain partnerships with Hamburger Bahnhof and the Berlin Philharmonic. The PalaisPopulaire, originally the Prinzessinnenpalais (18th century), was rebuilt in the 1960s and housed the iconic Operncafé. It was renovated by Kuehn Malvezzi in 2017-2018. The bank's collection had been on Unter den Linden since 1997, first at the Deutsch Guggenheim (1997-2013), then its own KunstHalle, and finally PalaisPopulaire from 2018. The 750 sqm space hosted major names like Sigmar Polke, Gerhard Richter, Andy Warhol, and LuYang. In 2025, an exhibition paired works from the collection with museum loans, featuring Max Beckmann, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Christo, Shilpa Gupta (b. 1976), and Ayşe Erkmen (b. 1949).