Arnold Bode was a German architect, painter, designer and curator.

Arnold was born in Kassel

Kassel

Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...

, Germany. From 1928 to 1933, he worked as a painter and university lecturer in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

. However when the Nazis came to power they banned him from his profession. He returned to his home town of Kassel following the war.

Bode organised the first documenta

Documenta

documenta is an exhibition of modern and contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. It was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau which took place in Kassel at that time...

exhibition in Kassel in 1955. This featured a broad overview of 20th century art using large spaces in an innovative way. It was an unprecedented success. Bode organised three more documenta exhibitions, finishing with documenta 4. Others have since continued to produce regular documenta exhibitions in Kassel. Bode received the German Federal Cross of Merit in 1974.

His daughter is Renee Nele

Renee Nele

E. R. Nele is a German sculptor famous for goldsmithing and large scale metal sculptures.She was born in Berlin, the daughter of Marie-Louise and Arnold Bode . She started her career in 1950 as a student of the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London. She participated in Documenta II,...

.