A German-born artist, Kurt Schwitters worked across a wide array of genres and media, though he is most widely known for his collages. In the wake of World War I, he collected garbage from the streets to use as material, creating heartfelt and often sentimental works from the most unlikely of components. His work from this period took the remains of devastating conflict and transformed them into art. For him, the creation process was spiritual, a way to step free of life’s chaos, and bring pieces of the world together instead of ripping them apart.