woensdag 9 december 2015

Preis der Nationalgalerie 2015 - Winning performance is worth it, if you take the time

Until January 17th, you can admire the works of the four contestants for the Preis der Nationalgalerie 2015, on view in Hamburger Bahnhof. Four different bodies of work from the outside, but intrinsically speaking sort of the same: they are all room filling installations in which a specific environment is created to convey a message, by using a multitude of mediums. This is typical of this time: art no longer fits in one specific category, which makes the different fields of study at an art academy rather funny.

Florian Hecker
On show are two soundworks by Florian Hecker (1975, Augsburg), an activating installation by Christian Falsnaes (1980, Copenhagen), a presentation by the artist collective Slavs and Tartars (founded in 2006) and a performance by Anne Imhof (1978, Gießen), with which she won the price.
Slavs and Tartars
Her winning performance is called For ever rage and, as is the thing with performances, it is not on view. What is there is the remainder of the performance, the stage if  you will. In dimmed light (which made the host rather sleepy, he confessed),  concrete basins stand in the space with boxing balls hanging over them. Bottles with energy drink were standing in corners, accompanied by cigarettes. On the wall there are drawings and etchings.  In one of the basins lays a small screen on which you can see an earlier performance.


Anne Imhof, Preis der Nationalgalerie, installation view, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, 2015. Photo by galerie Deborah Schamoni
Anne Imhof, Preis der Nationalgalerie, installation view, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, 2015. Photo by galerie Deborah Schamoni

The performance is repeated on eight days during the four month exhibition period.  To really grasp the “what” that has won the price, you have to visit one of these. The last ones are on Friday the 16th and Saturday the 17th of January. The duration is two hours, but an opera normally takes longer, so do not let this hold you back. And be warned: there are performers, turtles and buttermilk involved.
Anne Imhof - Performance

Anne Imhof
Works by the other contestants are on view, of which the interactive installation Moving Images  by Christian Falsnaes is highly entertaining. Upon entering, an employee approaches you, and explains how it works. You are invited to actively participate within the work, therefore you are becoming part of the performance. The room has screens on both ends. Different kinds of images are projected on them. Sometimes a group of people, sometimes only one. The voice -over gives instructions: to walk, to dance, to choose a screen to look at. At certain intervals, the voice-over stops and you are invited by the employee to approach the middle. There, a group discussion is started between the participants that are present. “How do you feel?”, is being asked.


Christian Falsnaes- Moving Image @ Preis der Nationalgalerie 2015. Hamburger Bahnhof
Christian Falsnaes- Moving Image @ Preis der Nationalgalerie 2015. Hamburger Bahnhof

The visitor is confronted with your wish for being in the spotlights or your lack there of. Will you dance? Will you participate? Do you care what the other visitors think? Do you oblige to the voice over? Do you want to share how you feel?
Through this part of the activating installation, you enter part two: a waiting room with chairs. A curtain splits the room. Behind it you can hear mumbling, talking, sometimes walking. Only one person is allowed in. Inside, a personal encounter is waiting for you with a difficult decision to make at the end. I decided “no” and am still not entirely sure why..


Christian Falsnaes- Moving Image @ Preis der Nationalgalerie 2015. Hamburger Bahnhof
Christian Falsnaes- Moving Image @ Preis der Nationalgalerie 2015. Hamburger Bahnhof

In my last blog entry, I talked about the gaze in relation to the work of Fiona Mackay. In her exhibition Close to at Klemm’s, paintings are staring and peeking at you. Here, the artist, although not physically present, takes this role on him.
He persuades you to do stuff. To take action. You have to make a decision. Are you going along with it or not?

Penis alert!


Just in time, I saw Close to by Fiona Mackay at Klemm’s. At first glance, the work by this young (1984) Scottish artist looks rather naive. Big canvases painted in a watercolor technique. Some paintings have a line pattern. Others have a big round spot of paint in the middle, resembling an iris, or tie-dye. The line paintings, made out of shy but attractive colors are  interchanged with these eyeball canvasses. Staring into one of the latter was rather mesmerizing. But no more than that.
On leaving the gallery, there it was…
A giant penis!









I had totally overlooked it. Suddenly, sexually charged images started to emerge from the line paintings.  And their color was no longer shy, it was nude! A gentle curve became a vagina. A swelling could be a nipple. And right beside them, all those staring eyes.
Sebastian Klemm, obviously a leg-person, saw stockings in the line paintings.  He told me that  for Mackay the connection between the work and the exhibition space was imperative. And although she normally asked writer friends to write the gallery text, she had insisted that the gallery staff wrote it this time. The result is a snap shot conversation. Like the glances one throws at someone across a room.
Fiona Mackay 4 web Fiona Mackay 3 web
The disc- (or eye) paintings tie all the works together. Like observers,  they gaze at one another, male or female. Probing each others “bodies”. The question here, is who (or what) is the gazer and what is it that is being gazed at? The beholder seems to have walked into an intimate party, peeking at each other. It leaves the viewer with the sensation of being a voyeur.
Watcher, or being watched, the visitor is both. This is disturbing, because most paintings don’t look back. It makes the act of looking part of the exhibition.  The gaze could be the wanted object here, the object of desire. Because who doesn’t want to be seen?

maandag 2 november 2015

maandag 12 oktober 2015

Gallerytour Potsdamerstraße - 10 October

On Saturday October 10th, Gallery Quest submerged itself, together with eight other art fanatics in the gallery scene around Potsdamerstraße. The gallerytour started at Esther Schipper gallery (soon to be joined with Johnen Galerie), where we explored the work of Mexican artist Gabriel Kuri (1970). He selects materials and found objects, that seem to have no value and makes new compositions with them.
Gabriel Kuri, An old niche for your new need @ Esther Schipper

The installations and sculptures talk about traces, about objects that people leave behind. Like straws that you can buy with 50 in a box. There is no original object here, and they are treated as such. An individual straw has no value, is interchangeable, and easily discarded. Kuri picks them up and puts them in the niches of his sculptures. Like people do when there is no trashcan around. A somewhat curious act, of shamefully trying to give it a place anyway.

Barry Johnston, Upside Down Liberation 2: Mosquito Communion @ Micky Schubert

Next on the route are Galerie Micky Schubert and Société on the Genthinerstraße. Micky Schubert shows work by LA-based American artist Barry Johnston (1980). His work is difficult to grasp because of it's many references. With an opening performance he activated the work, and now we are left with the "stage". Poetic texts can be found in stacks on the ground, they hang on the wall and are laying on the gallerist's table. They are the core of the work and your entrance key. The hypnotic song texts are urging you to  keep going, keep on dancing. They are hinting to the free state you are in while partying, totally loose of everything, no consequences until tomorrow.

David Rhodes, Untitled'15 @ Société

At Société there are paintings on view by NY-based Canadian artist David Rhodes (1983) that hurt the eyes. He uses a high chroma yellow paint that bounces almost as much light back as a white surface does. The image is thus not only contained on the canvas but also floats in the room.
Šelja Kamević, Position Absolute @ Tanja Wagner

Next is Galerie Tanja Wagner in the Pohlstraße. The exhibition by Bosnian artist Šelja Kamerić  (1976) is made out of three parts and shows beautiful poetic works that are related to her background, growing up in a war-torn country. The photo collages talk about the little knickknacks you have in your drawer, the little stuff you keep on taking with you every time you move instead of throwing them away. They are presented in a clean way, on a flat surface, with numbers next to them. The accompanying text is a poetic exploration of their heritage, use or purpose.

The second part consists of perfect stone spheres, which can be found "in the wild" in Bosnia and in other places all over the world. There origin is unknown. In Bosnia they are believed to guard the spiritual balance in the world and therefore should not be moved. The spheres in the gallery are engraved with coordinates of places in Bosnia where war atrocities where committed and a spiritual balance was nowhere to be found at that time.
Šelja Kamević, Position Absolute @ Tanja Wagner

The three boxes in the window are the third part and refer tho the help packages Kamerić and her family received during the Balkan war. Their contents varied from old newspapers to used candles to cans of food that where over date. Despite their uselessness, the artist still remembers them in a positive manner, because they still sort of felt like presents with a moment of excitement about what was to be found inside. You can ask yourself what one would really need in times of despair.

In galerie Arndt we got more familiar with contemporary art form Southeast Asia. Korean artist Jeewi Lee (1987) showed traces from her home in the form of traditional rice paper floors. She let parts of floors send over, dirty, with spots and tried to clean them with good aggressive German cleaning products. Now, new traces from the cleaning got left behind, and of course not all old traces could be removed. Some stains, like in life, are here to stay.
Arin Dwihartanto Sunaryo, Silent Salvo @ Arndt

Indonesian artist Arin Dwihartanto Sunaryo (1978) has an interesting way of working, throwing paint onto a layer of hot raisin that he has mixed with ashes from the vulcano Mount Merapi. The result is a surprise: the part that lies under is what we look at on the wall. It leads to very vibrant images with a lot of depth.

Across the street in the courtyard of Potsdamerstraße 77-87 where Tagespiegel used to be, is, among others, Galeria Plan B located. On view is work by Roemanian artist Şerban Savu (1978) which deals with the border between art, art history and reality. Savu is a skilled painter who paints everyday scenes with referrals to art history. Like the painting "Ceci n'est pas un tableau" which shows a painting of a construction scene, hanging on his studio wall. Watching a painted painting in Savu's style, which he never made, hanging on the painted wall of his studio, hanging in a gallery space, hints for example to all the images we see in everyday life which are not recognized as art but could be if we paid more attention.
Şerban Savu, Pictures at an exhibition @ Galeria Plan B

Last stop is the renowned Blain/Southern gallery where old and recent photo's by German film giant Wim Wenders (1945). It is interesting but also dangerous when an artist starts working in a new medium. Are these pictures hanging here because they are really new and improving or are they hanging here because they are made by Wim Wenders? In an interview with Deutsche Welle he talks about the joy of taking photo's. Making films is a group project, he states. Photo's he can do all alone, no explanations needed. His images are big, about time moving on, places that remain, but not always stay the same. Hopper's emptiness can be found in some of his American photo's, of which the photo's of abandoned drive in movies that hang upstairs are the best.

donderdag 1 oktober 2015

"How the new came into the world"- Alicja Kwade in Haus am Waldsee

Alicja Kwade (Poland 1979) seems to be everywhere this year. In Berlin we could see her work GoldVolks at abc- art berlin contemporary. At the same time, an overview of her work called Monolog on the 11th floor opened in Haus am Waldsee.

Artist Talk in Haus am Waldsee, 30 September 2015

The exhibition is a accumulation of her ten year art practice, since she graduated form the Universität der Kunste in 2005. And as she explained herself during the artist talk, it is a chance to see "how the new came into the world". This "new" refers to the objects, which are the result of the transformation of an idea into a physical form. The thought that became a work of art. 

One of her inspirational sources, and very visible in this exhibition, are scientific processes. When she comes across something that triggers here, she does what a lot of us would do; google it till you can't google no more.

 Eadem Mutata Resurgo 3, 2013

An example is the discovery made by Jacob Bernoulli in the late seventeenth century, that the spiral can be found everywhere in nature. This theory literally found it's shape in the work Eadem Mutata Resurgo 3 ( transformed I rise again as the same), (2013). It is a curled door, that may also refers to life, that also spirals in the same circles over and over again. Kwade states the spiral as one of the most intriguing forms, because it has no beginning and no end. It could go on forever.


Less obvious are the strange trumpets, who got nothing to do with music and everything with the theory of wormholes (for my non Star Trek friends; this is the theoretical possibility of the folding of space, creating a tunnel between two distant regions). These copper shapes are connected to tubes that go through walls and through the ceiling, making of the entire Haus am Waldsee an Alicja Kwade universe.

On view untill November 22th

vrijdag 25 september 2015

Gallerytour 10 oktober - Potsdamerstraße

Wat was het leuk, de gallerytour van afgelopen 16 september! We verkenden de omgeving Checkpoint Charlie waar ter gelegenheid van abc- art berlin contemporary de deelnemende galeries s'avonds de deuren openden. Blogger Emma Wijninga van wattedoeninberlijn.nl was ook mee en heeft een hele leuke recensie over de gallerytour geschreven.
Het werk van Nik Nowak bespreken @ galerie Alexander Levy. Foto: Isabella Lichtbilder

Er nu komt een vervolg!

Wat gaan we doen?
Een keer in de maand bezoeken we een zogenaamde kunsthub: een plek in de stad waar veel galeries samen clusteren. Ga mee als je zin en tijd hebt.  Doe alle gallerytours om een goed overzicht te krijgen van het omvangrijke hedendaagse kunstcircuit in Berlijn. Of ga met een losse tour mee, bijvoorbeeld in de wijken die jij interessant vindt. Aan bod zullen komen: Potsdamerstraße, City West, omgeving Kotbussertor, omgeving Rosa Luxemburgplatz, Auguststraße/Linienstraße, Neuköln, omgeving Checkpoint Charlie en als het lukt ook Wedding.*
Op zaterdag 10 oktober kun je mee om de kunstschatten en galeries van het moment op en rondom de Potsdamerstraße te ontdekken.

Alle praktische info op een rij:
Wat
: Gallerytour Potsdamerstraße
Wanneer: Zaterdag 10 oktober van 11:00-14:00 uur
Met wie: Kunstfanatica  eh –historica en schrijfster Laureline van den Heuvel
Waarom: Krijg toegang tot de onoverzichtelijke  Berlijnse Kunstzene onder begeleiding van een kenner, leer de hedendaagse kunstschatten per wijk kennen, bespaar jezelf de tijd van het uitzoeken van namen, openingstijden en routes, krik je hedendaagse kunstkennis op tot ongekende hoogtes
Wat kost dat eigenlijk:
- €20, - pp en € 10,- voor studenten (neem je studentenpas mee)
- Ga je voor het eerst mee? Dan kost het ook maar €10, -
Dat is echt tof zeg, ik wil mee! Hoe geef ik me op? Stuur een e-mail naar:
laureline@gallery-quest.com

*Programma en volgorde zijn onder voorbehoud en afhankelijk van de interessante tentoonstellingen van dat moment. 

The abc- art berlin contemporary 2015 highlights and why they are so cool. Part 1

Yes! It was a good abc-year this year. Definitely better than last year’s edition. This are my abc 2015 favourites and why. Part 1:
What: Goldvolks by Alicja Kwade (Poland, 1979)in collaboration with goldsmith Georg Hornemann, presented by gallery König Berlin
Why this is cool: 97 gold cubes, hanging like pendants on golden chains, each representing the national gold reserve of a country, divided by the number of citizens.  The bigger the cube, the wealthier each inhabitant would be if the gold were shared equally. Although America has the biggest gold reserve in the world, it’s cube is only in the thirteenth place. Hanging from a chain, like any other (religious) symbol, it also references to the belief in the (sort of) steady value of gold, in comparison with the more fluctuating  euro or dollar. What one forgets is that the value of gold still is decided on by a small elite group of financial people.
Extra coolness points:
- Visitors of abc could borrow and wear a cube of their choice (for example of their own country) to get a real feeling of sharing in the wealth. 
- The word ‘Volk’ in the title means ‘people’ in Dutch, as in gold for the people.

What: Movement by Chinese artist Li Ming (1986), presented by Antenna Space, Shanghai.  
Why this is cool: On eight screens, represented in a line next to one another, we see the artist moving  from right to left, jumping from one mode of transportation to another. From a truck to a rickshaw, to the back of a bike, to a skateboard, onto a suitcase on wheels.  Although you get the feeling he is moving forward, in one direction, one screen doesn’t logically display the next movement. your mind tries to link the eight screens together in a natural order but fails trying because we tend to expect movement going from a to b.
What: Third World/Reich by Brazilian artist Marilia Furman (1982), presented by PSM Gallery
Why this is cool: Two small little metal plates are hanging next to each other. You have to get really close to read the letters that seem to be typed into the metal. The one on the left says ‘Third world gonna explode’, while the one on the right states ‘Third reich has nothing to do with it’. These two non-existent, theoratical worlds have the number three in common. One could combine the poverty of everyday life in the third world with the poverty of mind in the third reich.
Extra points for coolness: The one stating ‘Third reich has nothing to do with it’ has extra meaning here in Germany, especially in a city like Berlin because here the third reich still seems to have something to do with everything.

What: Experiments in Absorption by English artist Kate Cooper (1984), presented by Neumeister Bar-Am
Why this is cool: The installation consist of three screens, two still, one moving. They depict an arm, shoulder and a sculpted head submerging in or coming up out of some sort of liquid. Cooper is fascinated by the capitalistic system, the images it produces and how the viewer gets influenced by them. In earlier work it also has a feminine touch ( for example the image of a woman, try to google this word and see what comes up). I guess in this new work it is more about submerging ourselves or trying to hold our head above the water.

maandag 14 september 2015

BAW, abc …. Euh, say what?

Een introductie op de Berlin Art Week
Als kunstfan kun je volgende week van 15-20 september in Berlijn helemaal los. De kunstwereld ontwaakt uit haar Sommerpause  en meteen staat de vierde editie van de Berlin Art Week (BAW) voor de deur.  Een belangrijk onderdeel daarvan is de kunstbeurs abc (art berlin contemporary) in Station Berlin. En dan is er nog de tentoonstellingsreeks Stadt/Bild, waar alle grote instituten, zoals Kunst-Werke en de Berlinische Galerie aan mee doen. Maar er is nog veel meer…

Want wat is een Art Week tegenwoordig zonder een heel nevenprogramma?  Wist je bijvoorbeeld dat er naast abc nog twee beursen georganiseerd worden (Positions en Berliner Liste), een gallery night en een happening rondom de Neue National Gallery (“Was die niet dicht?”, hoor ik je denken. Klopt. )? En natuurlijk lift de rest van de Kunstszene graag mee met eigen openingen en speciale programma’s.

“Help!” of “Ja, laat maar zitten hoor” zijn begrijpelijke emoties die nu door je heen kunnen vliegen. Geen nood! Hieronder een wie is wat en waarom, plus tips waar je heen kunt.


Wat heeft Gallery Weekend met  abc te maken?
Nou, eigenlijk begon het allemaal in 2005 toen het eerste Gallery Weekend het licht zag.  Je zou het misschien niet zeggen van een stad waar zoveel galeries zijn en zoveel kunstenaars wonen, maar een kunstmarkt was er niet echt. Laat staan een verzamelaarscircuit. Wat doe je dan? Je bedenkt een evenement waarmee je de kunstmarkt naar je toe haalt.  Aldus geschiedde.

Om Berlijn interessanter te maken voor (voornamelijk) internationale verzamelaars, sloegen een aantal galeristen de handen ineen. Ze kozen een mooi weekend in mei , openden gezamenlijk hun deuren en presenteerden het beste wat Berlijn te bieden had. Gallery Weekend was geboren en is  ondertussen uitgegroeid tot een evenement waar je limo’s van de ene galerieënhotspot naar de andere kunt zien rijden.
abc 2014 in Station Berlin

Kunstbeurs abc (art berlin contemporary)  is in 2008 ontstaan, uit dezelfde hoed als Gallery Weekend. Oorspronkelijk was de beurs bedacht als satelietbeurs van grote broer Art Forum Berlin, die van 1996-2010 de Kunstmesse op het gebied van hedendaagse kunst in  Berlijn was. Volgens de roddels is Art Forum aan meerdere factoren ten onder gegaan, waar strijd en onenigheid tussen galerieën er één van is.  abc nam als enige beurs in 2011 het stokje over.

Op abc presenteren Berlijnse en internationale galeries (de verdeling is ongeveer fifty fifty) zich samen in Station Berlin. Dit is ontzettend praktisch. Galeries die je vanwege hun locatie anders nooit in  één dag kunt bezoeken, staan nu naast elkaar op in plek. Een geweldige gelegenheid dus om in 1 dag helemaal art-up-to-date te raken.

Berlin Art Week
Twee mooie kunstevenementen, één in het voorjaar, één in het najaar, om Berlijn als kunststad nog meer op de kaart te zetten. Maar vooral om internationaal verzamelaars te lokken en aldus de bijnaam van abc, "anything but collectors", lijkt dat wel te lukken. 

Daar zag de gemeente Berlijn ook wel brood in.  En zo werd er een hele kunstweek, lekker internationaal de Berlin Art Week genoemd, om abc  heen gesponnen. De Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft, Technologie und Forschung doet een duit in het zakje, evenals hoofdsponsor Deutsche Bank.  

Een interessant onderdeel van de BAW  is samenwerking tussen de grote instituten in de  gezamenlijke tentoonstellingsreeks genaamd Stadt/Bild. Het is een bijna profetische reeks die ingaat op actuele kwesties zoals van wie de stad eigenlijk is en hoe de stad ‘vreemden’ in haar structuur integreert (zie bijvoorbeeld de tentoonstelling Xenopolis in de Deutsche Bank Kunsthalle).
Xenopolis: Laurence Bonvin, uit de serie "Blikkiesdorp", 2009, 
Alles leuk en aardig, maar waar moet ik nu heen?
Het programma van de BAW is immens. Je kunt natuurlijk in bed blijven en de dekens over je hoofd trekken, maar dat is eigenlijk ook weer jammer.  Want als je de opties nader bekijkt, kun je een schifting maken tussen events die alleen in de week van 15-20 september te bezoeken zijn en tentoonstellingen die langer te zien zijn. Stadt/Bild bijvoorbeeld, is een absolute aanrader, maar prima te bewaren voor later. De meeste tentoonstelling lopen nog wel door tot november. In tegenstelling tot abc bijvoorbeeld die alleen in de BAW te bezoeken is.
abc 2014 in Station Berlin

Hou je van galeries, ga dan naar abc. Hier staan de topgaleries van de stad en daar zul je zeker veel moois zien. Ben je meer geïnteresseerd in de pioniers die buiten het commerciële traject om kunst willen laten zien zonder winstoogmerk; de projectruimtes, bekijk dan het programma van het (net afgelopen) Project Space Festival genaamd Xchange eens. Zij organiseren een samenwerking tussen steeds 2 projectruimtes (5 setjes in totaal) die samen iets nieuws bedenken op verschillende locaties in de stad. Wie weet gebeurt er wel iets supergeinigs bij jou om de hoek.

De allerlaatste opening van de BAW, op zaterdag in Haus am Waldsee valt in de categorie last, but definitely not least. Niet alleen beloofd de filosofisch getinte tentoonstelling van de Poolse kunstenares Alicja Kwade veel goeds, de beeldentuin achter het huis is een ideale nazomer locatie. Dus als de zon mooi door de bladeren schijnt, zou ik zeggen op naar het Grünewald!


Om vast in de stemming te komen, kun je op woensdagavond 16 september mee op gallerietour! Die avond is het abc galerie night. Alle galeries die op abc staan, organiseren en speciale opening op hun eigen locatie in de stad. Ik heb een mooie route uitgestippeld in de omgeving Checkpoint Charlie, zodat je de volgende dag  goed beslagen ten ijs abc op kunt wandelen.

Speciale galerietour tijdens de abc gallery night

Van 17 t/m 20 september is het weer zover en begint het kunstfestijn Berlin Art Week, met onder andere de kunstbeurs art berlin contemporary (abc). Er is normaal al super veel te doen in de stad op kunstgebied en in deze week verdriedubbelt het aanbod. Om je op weg te helpen, heb ik een interessante galerieroute uitgestippeld.

Ben je van plan om abc te bezoeken en wil je meer weten over de galeries die er te vinden zijn? Ga dan op 16 september mee met de galerie-preview promotietour, speciaal voor Nederlanders in Berlijn. Van 18-21 uur zijn alle galeries die op abc staan speciaal geopend op hun eigen locatie. Wij bezoeken galeries in de kunst-hub rondom Checkpoint Charlie. Je zou het misschien niet zeggen, maar er huizen een aantal spannende kunstplekken in deze omgeving, zoals onder andere Galerie Thomas Schulte, Carlier/Gebauer, Galerie BarbaraThum, König Galerie en Duve. Na de tour ga je gewapend met nieuwe kunstkennis de Berlin Art Week te gemoed en wandel je zonder schroom abc op!

Startpunt: Galerie Thomas Schulte, Charlottenstr. 24, 18:00 uur. 
Eindpunt: Duve, Gitschinerstr. 94/94a, +/- 21:00 uur
Duur: 3 uur
Kosten: 10 euro pp
Max. aantal deelnemers: 12

Meld je aan via info@berlijnopmaat.com

zondag 30 augustus 2015

Art-up-to-date in Berlijn

Gepubliceerd op het blog van Berlijn op Maat

Draaideur-kunstwerk van Danill Galkin bij de ingang van de tentoonstelling Fire and Forget, Kunstwerke

Het galeriecircuit van Berlijn is GROOT. De gemeente Berlijn schat dat er zich tussen de 400 en 600 galeries in de stad bevinden. Projectruimtes (meer dan 100) en andere alternatieve kunstplekken komen daar nog bovenop. Alles bij elkaar opgeteld, zijn het er ongeveer evenveel als in heel Nederland.

Ze wisselen ook steeds. Soms sluiten galeries hun deuren, zelfs gevestigde, zoals Galerie Kamm. Daarnaast openen er steeds weer nieuwe galeries, omdat er toch nog steeds relatief veel (betaalbare) ruimte is in de stad.

Laten we wel wezen; deze veelzijdigheid is te gek! De andere kant van de medaille is wel, dat het de toegankelijkheid vermindert. Er zijn zoveel galeries dat je bijna niet meer weet waar je moet beginnen. Hoe maak je een keuze uit de eindeloze lijst aan openingen? Hoe weet je op welke plekken je moet zijn en wanneer? Er zijn een aantal sites die je hierbij kunnen helpen.

Index
Index is de meest gerenommeerde en presenteert zowel op papier als online een tweemaandelijks overzicht van openingen en tentoonstellingen in galeries, projectruimtes, tijdelijke tentoonstellingen, musea en privé-instellingen. Het papieren leporello-achtige overzicht kun je dan ook in bovengenoemde type instellingen vinden. Het is een crime als het gaat om bruikbaarheid. Aangezien het een uitvouwbaar boekje is met aan beide zijdes lijsten met adressen, ben je eeuwig aan het zoeken en draaien als iets wilt opzoeken op de bijbehorende kaart. Wat dat betreft biedt de website uitkomst. Hier kun je, naast het overzicht, onder andere ook zien wat er vandaag te doen is. En de echte kunst-die-hard abonneert zich op de wekelijkse nieuwsbrief die de openingen per week voor je op een rij zet.

Bpigs
Ben je meer op zoek naar een lijst die gemaakt wordt door degenen die in de galeries hangen, in plaats van door degenen die ze runnen, dan is Bpigs (Berlin independents guide) (of eigenlijk Berlijn-portugal, ireland, greece, spain) (je snapt het al, deze is een stuk lolliger) je platform. Ook zij bieden je een tweemaandelijkse overzicht, dat in papieren vorm te vinden is op kunstplekken. Het online magazine van Bpigs is bedoeld om de kunstwereld te belichten vanuit het gezichtspunt van degenen die ervoor zorgen dat er überhaupt een kunstwereld is, de makers dus. Onder het kopje ‘Openings’ staan de tips per week geordend.

Artconnect
Ook Artconnect komt van de kant van de makers. Alhoewel het geven van overzichtslijstjes niet hun main focus is, kan het interessant zijn om eens een kijkje te nemen op hun site. Hun doel  is een on- en offline netwerkplatform te genereren en dat resulteert bijvoorbeeld ook in iets wat het midden houdt tussen een marktplaats en een arbeidsbureau, maar dan voor kunstenaars. Onder het tabje ‘magazine’, vind je hun ‘staff picks’, ofwel de tips van de week. 



Berlin Art Link
Berlin Art Link is een platform dat zich als insiders guide presenteert. Erg interessant zijn de verslagen van studio visits. Het wekelijks overzicht van openingen vind je op de site onder het kopje Magazin/openings. Daarnaast heeft Berlin Art Link ook een commerciële kant en biedt het marketing- en communicatiediensten aan, als een spin die via haar netwerk die verschillende spelers op het kunstveld met elkaar in contact kan brengen. De tips voor de week zijn ook hier te vinden onder onder magazine/openings.

Art Berlin
Is je Duits goed genoeg? Kijk dan eens op de site van Art Berlin. Opgezet door curatoren, geeft deze site wederom een mooi overzicht van de ins and outs. Wat van nut kan zijn, is hun Galerieführer: een lijst met de volgens hen belangrijkste galeries van het moment. De lijst is niet te groot en dus behapbaar. Het kan dus fungeren als een springplank ter kennismaking en onderdompeling in de wondere wereld van de Berlijnse galeries.


dinsdag 16 juni 2015

Grosse is grand

Katharina Grosse @ König Galerie, St, Agnes church
Part of the appeal of the Berlin art scene are its spaces. Sometimes hidden somewhere on the fourth flour. Sometimes all the way in the back of a parking lot. And sometimes in incredibly beautiful (old) buildings that got a new purpose. Like the Kindl Brewary in Neuköln, now a center for contemporary art in the making. Or the St. Agnes church in Kreuzberg, now home to the König Galerie. And there is a grand exhibition to be found there.

It's called The smoking kid and shows "paintings" by German artist Katharina Grosse (1965). Her canvases are build up out of colorful layers. Each layer is torn up, so that the layer below is visible, Like getting rid of wall paper which sometimes means being confronted with layers and layers of old wall cover.
overview Katharina Grosse @ König Galerie

Put together, all these layers provide a time capsule. They are the reminder of an earlier state. Now all that is left of this state, are fragments. Fragments of stories, captured in one frame. Their size makes that you can drown in these multiple story canvases. You can even choose, do you want to observe one story at a time or let yourself be swept away by their totality.

Katharina Grosse @ König Galerie
On view until the 21th of June 2015

zaterdag 13 juni 2015

A how-to guide to the wonders of the Berlin gallery scene

Published in Freistuz, June 2015

François Morellet @ Blain/Southern 
You are interested in art but think museums are boring? You heard of the vast gallery scene in Berlin but don’t know how to access it? You tried once to select a gallery opening but gave up after seeing the list of choices? Do not despair any longer. With this how-to guide you’ll be self-sufficient in no time. But first things first: we have to lay down some ground rules.

Rule number 1: Go in with an open mind
Art cannot function without an open mind.  When you walk into a gallery, you might find something potentially mind breaking, life changing and/or  awe inspiring. Even if it looks boring at first glance, the gallerist chose this work or artist for a reason. Your job is to figure out what that reason is. And sometimes you have to work for it: read the pamphlet, do some online research, etc. If you still don’t get it after you put your best efforts in it, it might just be bad art. Because what is the meaning of an artwork if it cannot communicate its meaning? If this is the case, GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!

Rule number 2: Show no fear
Galleries can seem impenetrable fortresses  with gallerists as their watch(wo)men, who will cut your head off if you make one false move. Your job is to show no fear. Don’t be shy, ring the bell, walk in, smile, say hallo and walk around as if you own the place. Don’t be scared of the arty folk sitting behind their desks.  Little secret: they are people too!

Rule number 3: Ask questions
You made it! You are inside, happily strolling around and exploring the space. Now what? The art seems strange, you don’t think you get it. You read the pamphlet on the desk, but it doesn’t seem to make things clearer at all. Then ask the gallerist what it is all about.  Let them work for it. This is part of their actual job. If you are shopping for a new TV, you ask the salesperson  to tell you stuff, right? Same here. A gallery is a wondrous world where you can broaden the mind, but it is also a shop. So ask something like: “Can you tell me something about this artist/work/installation/etc.?”

Go, go, go! But where?
With these ground rules in place. You are ready to rock the galleries in Berlin. But where to go? Berlin has a gallery hub in practically every ‘Kietz’. Let’s start with the area around the Potsdammerstraße, an interesting street where posh meets neglect. With the street prostitutes on the Kurfürstenstraße, it might not feel like a gallery hotspot, but the ‘Potse’ is already turning highbrow, so check it out before it is too late.

Our first stop is Schöneberger Ufer 65 where  Esther Schipper gallery is situated. She is a leading lady in the Berlin art scene and her shows are seldom disappointing. At the moment she presents work by Daniel Steegmann Mangrané (Barcelona, 1977) entitled Spiral Forest (kingdom of all the animals and all the beasts is my name). There are photo’s, installations where branches circle round on moving mirrors, a movie and an virtual reality environment, all featuring the Mata Atlântica forest in Brasil. They all present different  views on this rainforest. You see the 2D version (the photo’s)in black and white and in colour, the moving 2D version (the film), the interpretation (the installation) and lastly you can step in the virtual version of this forest by putting on a special headset. You get to know this forest, without ever visiting it. Information about it is present, although the subject, the forest, is absent.
Blain/Southern Galery view

Walk your way through the Potsdammerstraße until you reach number 77-87 where Blain/Southern are situated in the courtyard. Next to the überposh Andreas Murkudis clothing store you will find a vast exhibition space where works from François Morellet (France, 1926) are presented under the title Dash dash dash. The giant mural fits the space perfectly and shows that being 89 year old artist, doesn’t mean your art gets stuffy. The abstract shapes seem to rhythmically float on the walls. Don’t forget to go up the stairs to take a look from above.


Entrance Galeria Plan B

Don’t go back to the street just yet. When you walk out of Blain/Southern, turn right instead. Around the corner you will find GaleriaPlan B. You can’t miss it, a big rock is blocking the entrance. It is an artwork by Navid Nuur (Teheran, 1976), with a magnet as its core. If you examine its surface, you will see that it attracted iron dust. His exhibition Mining Memory centers around rocks. They contain more history than anything else on the planet.  This notion of ancient information pressed together and  locked in layers of stone  is the key to exploring this work. Inside the gallery, in a dark corner, another type of work shows you something about the nature of looking. A painting is hanging there, that only can be seen if you take a photo of it with flash. Light is essential , imperative for viewing. Without light, we stay in the dark. This is taken literally here.  If you are not prepared to work for it, the meaning will stay hidden.

maandag 8 juni 2015

Airplane in your face

In the beautiful Kesselhaus (Boiler House) of a former Brewery, now the KINDLE - Centre for Contemporary Art, there is a plane hanging in an unnatural position. If this weren't an installation, this plane would face certain destructing. Standing directly under it and facing upwards is therefore a powerful experience.

A loud noise is present in the huge space. It is produced by two giant fans, which make the aircraft slowly spin round. The installation is made by Swiss artist Roman Signer (1938) and called Kitfox Experimental. Is is also the name of this type of aircraft; "an economic airplane you can built yourselve".

This build-your-own-dream venture is exactly like Signers work. He makes strange installations with ordinary objects to do crazy and fun stuff with. Like catapulting stools out of windows, or letting a rocket pull your knitted head off. This artist certainly has the time of his life, whiles producing art.

Taking objects (or attitude for that matter) out of their natural habitat, gives you information about the thing itself. For example about formal qualities you normally take for granted. The plane, which goal normally is to go up into the air, fly around and then go down again, is now hanging there. Still in its natural habitat, it is doing an unnatural thing.

If the plane was in this position in real life, there would be no happy ending to this story. Luckily for us, this strange still life gives us the opportunity to stand right under its nose and invent one.