ARTSLANT'S SPECIAL EDITION #2
BERLIN ART WEEK 2011
Berliner Time with the ArtSlantTeam
"Alles in Ordnung?"
Berlin is a city that straddles order and chaos, where wild graffiti-covered corners co-exist with stately buildings on wide boulevards, and where dreadlocked gutter punks dutifully wait for the green Ampelmännchen before crossing the street.
It might seem strange that a city so known for its vibrant emerging art scene and wild nightlife is also known for its punctiliousness, but that's just Berlin's special brand of meticulous disarray.
Remember this as you rise, bleary-eyed, from the party the night before and get ready to do it all over again. Don some dark sunglasses and take a walk through hip Friedrichshain, near the train tracks, where disused industrial buildings now serve as urban art centers and studio complexes--a new creative order emerging from abandonment. In true Berliner style, the art fairs all found forums in repurposed spaces:abc art berlin contemporary in a spacious old railway station at Gleisdreieck, Preview Berlin in an old airplane hangar at the former Tempelhof airport, and Berliner Liste in an old powerplant in Kreuzberg (so Kraftwerk!).
(Image: Aurelia Gratzer, Endlich, nicht am Meer, Acryl auf Molino, 120 x 120 cm / 2009, Galerie Hunchentoot, Berlin.)
When Berlin's foremost art fair Art Forum checked out this year a vacancy was felt, but not for long--Berliners can't let a void go unfilled. The triad of fairs this year form a neat little triangle around Kreuzberg--Berlin's artist central.
With a bit of planning, drawing out order from the chaos, Berlin Art Week can be managed. Art-fairs by day, vernissages by evening, then dance the night away...
abc art berlin contemporary
The theme might be "about painting" but you're sure to find art in every medium at the new masthead art fair in Berlin. Spend some time with photocollages by John Stezaker at Capitain Petzel, Thomas Hirschhorn mixed-media works at ARNDT, photographs by Rineke Dijkstra presented by Jan Mot, sculptures by Katinka Bock at both Galerie Jocelyn Wolff and Meyer Riegger. If true oil on canvas is your thing, you're sure to be impressed by Eberhard Havekost presented by Galerie Gebr. Lehmann.
PREVIEW Berlin
Berlin's "emerging" art fair shows some of the freshest, youngest work in town, even partnering with art academies and universities to support young artists. Don't missAurelia Gratzer's and Christoph Schirmer's paintings at Galerie Hunchentoot,Johannes Høie, Linn Pedersen, Christina Leithe, and Ann Kristin Aas at Oslo-based Galleri Maria Veie, and Christa Joo Hyun D'Angelo's Spectacular Society atGalerie Suvi Lehtinen. Also showing at PREVIEW: Video Art Box, in collaboration with Fresh Paint, Tel Aviv, screening the latest from the Israeli video art scene.
Berliner Liste
Photography reigns supreme at this emerging art fair. Check out Petra Steinerova's work at the booth of Prague-based Galerie Laboratorio; don't miss CDA-Projects' bevy of promising work from young Turkish artistsBurcak Bingol, Elif Varol Ergen, Selcuk Artut, and Evren Sungur; and make a stop at Vienna's bäckerstrasse4-plattform für junge kunst to see work by Borjana Ventzislavovaand Thomas Gänz.
If you're not completely gasping for breath, or in total art overload, stop by a vernissage or two...or ten. We recommend Wolfgang Laib opening at Buchmann Galerie, The Uncanny Familiar at C/O Berlin, Kota Ezawa at FELDBUSCHWIESNER, Pierre Huyghe atEsther Schipper, Madeline Stillwell & Allison Fall at galerie OPEN, and Chicks on Speed at Kunstraum Kreuzberg, just to name a couple. And that's just on Friday! Whew!
See you in Berlin!
--The ArtSlant Team
(*Image above: Burcak Bingol, Unforeseen Transformation, 2011, Diasec100x100 cm, CDA-Projects, Istanbul.)
ARTSLANT INSIDER* - Landesverband Berliner Galerien
LVBG Landesverband Berliner Galerien: The Galleries Association of Berlin (LVBG) was founded in 1995 and is the professional representation of art galleries in Berlin.
Members of the Galleries Association of Berlin (LVBG) distinguish themselves by recognising the conduct rules of the Federation of European Art Galleries Association (F.E.A.G.A.), which regulate the duties and responsibilities of gallerists. They deal predominantly with contemporary art and ensure a steady intermediary between artists on the one hand and collectors, museums and institutions on the other hand.
On a cultural and politico-economic level, the Galleries Association of Berlin (LVBG) applies itself to stabilising and developing the city of Berlin within the international art world.
In the name of its members, the association is represented in various bodies in the cultural sector in Berlin and maintains close relations and cooperations with other art partners. The association actively supports the creation of a network promoting Berlin as a leading art location.
The LVBG regulary informs about the gallery exhibition program and the many art events in the city and region with the art map BERLINER GALERIEN and the websitewww.berliner-galerien.de. In addition, the LVBG organises various presentations for its members and those interested, including exclusive gallery tours and group exhibitions on international art fairs. Currently LVBG is initiating the revival of kunstherbst Berlin 2011, 9-11 September.
3 TO SEE - Gallery Picks at PREVIEW Berlin by Mara Goldwyn
Though by all accounts most everything occuring in Berlin's contemporary-art-autumn could be tagged as “emerging,” PREVIEW: The Emerging Art Fair takes it into their title—and to heart. Here are some galleries and artists to watch for:
(Image: Johannes Høie maler på messen i Hong Kong. Courtesy of the artist and Galleri Maria Veie, Oslo)
Galleri Maria Veie
Oslo, Norway
“Romantic Conceptualism?”
Galleri Maria Veie will highlight the work of four artists—Linn Pedersen, Christina Leithe, Ann Kristin Aas and Johannes Høie—as part of an ongoing project about the young Oslo scene.
Director Maria Veie Sandvik has been working on the idea of “Romantic Conceptualism.” According to Sandvik, “Romantic Conceptualism (also known as Conceptual Romanticism) is a strand of conceptual art which seeks to place emotion and a sense of 'the hand of the author' over the cold intellectualism of most conceptual art.”
Among other things, the gallery is planning to mount a twenty-five meter-long silk painting from the roof of Tempelhof that will descend into their booth (number 28). The work was made freehand by Johannes Høie this spring in Hong Kong with Chinese ink.
(Image: Alexander Schumacher, Welcome to the Continuum, 2010, photo wallpaper, wood, c-print, dimensions variable, Les Chants de Maldoror, Stedefreund, Berlin (with Tamara Lorenz and Christof Zwiener)
Stedefreund
Berlin, Germany
Alexandra Schumacher
The German-born Alexandra Schumacher shows what happens when a mathematician becomes an artist. Theorems and postulates become flesh, everyday objects as well as abstract shapes show their numerical, geometrical base.
With Stedefreund at PREVIEW, Schumacher will present at least two works. The 2010 work Welcome to the Continuum, an installation that may become a screen print for the fair, is a “reflection” in photo wallpaper of a three-dimensional wooden sculpture. Mirror images, infinity and the nature of dimensions are in play.
The 2011 Carrier Grade--a telecommunications term that means a reliable system or component—brings together sculpture, video and photography to also “reflect” upon the complex mathematical underpinnings of the everyday mundane.
(Image: Nika Oblak and Primoz Novak, Sisyphus Actions, 2011, 67 x 58 x 162 cm, pneumatic video installation. Courtesy of the artists and Alkatraz Galerija, Ljublijana)
Alkatraz Galerija
Ljubljana, Slovenia
This year at Preview, the Ljubljana-based Alkatraz Galerija takes on the concept of reality. They will “present the images of the world without one starting point or an absolute universal answer.” They claim that the “modernistic order in which all elements show themselves in a predetermined sequence with a clearly marked beginning and end is no longer valid.”
Works will include a “pneumatic installation” entitled Sisyphus Actions by Nika Oblak and Primoz Novak, that depicts the monotony of repetitious actions, commenting upon a bleak contemporary lifestyle in which people work progressively more and more in order to shop more and more.
Photography and light boxes by Damijan Kracina and Tomaz Tomazin, respectively, challenge established ideas of subjectivity and objectivity.
--Mara Goldwyn, writer living in Berlin
A LITTLE WHO, WHAT & WHERE - Berlin Art Link
Berlin Art Link offers an insider’s look at the city’s dynamic and innovative contemporary art scene in a personalized travel program for emerging and established collectors, curators, art professionals, art enthusiasts and museum patron groups hosted during the city’s annual art week, September 7-12, 2011. The program serves as a much-needed filter for the large array of exhibitors, social events, and local exhibitions, resulting in a more focused and rewarding experience. With personalized itineraries, tailored in consultation with guests, invitations to openings and access to private collections, guests are provided an exclusive and more enjoyable visit.
Antinomies: Gegensätze at galerie OPEN: Berlin Art Link and gallery OPEN by Alexandra Rockelmann are pleased to present Madeline Stillwell and Allison Fall’s first two-person exhibition curated by Jeni Fulton. Opens Friday, September 9, 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM
ARTSLANT INSIDER* - Elizabeth Gordon
Elizabeth Gordon, Parallel Universe, Mixed media and found object sculpture. Courtesy of the artist.
Elizabeth Gordon - "I am a mixed media artist and teacher of the arts. I am interested in found objects as archeology of the present and future. Art is an intellectual activity for me in which a concept is inherent in the work. Using found objects worn by human hands and nature with different media appeals to me as an artist. How I convey the concept I am working with is often intuitive and planned simultaneously. With each work of art is symbology that the viewer can come to on their own. My work is often influenced by other cultures, as I have lived in other countries at different times. The meaning of color, symbol, p attern, design and image in each culture can be so interesting and rich."
ARTSLANT INSIDER* - Jenik Cook
Jenik Cook, Mixed media. Courtesy of the artist.
Jenik Cook - Jenik Cook has shown her work all over the United States and abroad, and has been mentioned in dozens of art publications. Her confident sweeping lines and rich forms fill her canvas with an exuberant energy. Commenting on a deep connection between her daily life and her art practice, Cook states: "In my work, I look for some essential radiance, just as I seek that radiance in nature." Currently, Cook is showing in Energy, a group show at the OCCCA curated by Howard N. Fox, Curator Emeritus, Los Angeles County Museum of Art..
ARTSLANT INSIDER* - Wendy Coco
Wendy Coco, Courtesy of the artist.
Wendy Coco - "I think Frida Kahlo was the ultimate artist and she expressed it best in the quote below. I take photographs because I need to, and I photograph whatever catches my eye and touches my soul. The first time I ever picked up a camera I realized the gift I had been given. We tend to walk through life - one moment to the next, often missing life around us or the moments that mean the most to us. As our memories fade or the moment passes; photographs have a way of reminding us how we felt at the moment we took the photograph. They share moments, they share events and most of all they share emotions."
I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration. - Frida Kahlo
ARTSLANT INSIDER* - Sophia Gasparian
Sophia Gasparian, Courtesy of the artist.
Sophia Gasparian - Sophia Gasparian is an Armenian-born Los Angeles-based artist. Her work began in experimental film/installation combining video, sound and painting. The issues of equality of human rights worldwide, ethnic dislocation and social identity inform her everyday thinking and influence her art. Gasparian's work is archived at the Center for the Study of Political Graphics. She received her MFA from San Francisco Art Institute and her work has been exhibited at galleries in New York, Berlin and Los An geles. Gasparian's narrative paintings intertwine childlike innocence with sociopolitical criticism and her aesthetic approach remains apart from the mainstream art, incorporating stencils, stickers, spray paint and other nontraditional media.
ARTSLANT INSIDER* - Susan Parish
Susan Parish, Big Red, 2011, Digital drawing. Courtesy of the artist.
Susan Parish - Susan Parish received her degree in Painting and Printmaking from Wayne State University in Detroit. Moving to California in the 1980's, she began making furniture from found wood and established high-end representation in Chicago, NYC, Sun Valley, Idaho, and San Francisco. She participated in three International Furniture shows and was highlighted in numerous national and international magazines. Since then, Susan has experimented in many different mediums. As she states: "I work with the sensation and surprises inherent in new and complicated mediums. I like never knowing quite what I will get.” Susan currently lives and works in Oakland, CA, making sculpture and digital drawings.
ARTSLANT INSIDER* - Lilyan Aloma
Lilyan Aloma, Deconstruction Tenth Avenue, 2007, Digital Image/archival Pigment Print. Courtesy of the artist.
Lilyan Aloma - "The images in this body of work reflect my ongoing interest in urban environment and commerce's influence on our visual gestalt. It is an attempt to resolve the tension created by the overdevelopment of our city. As construction sites surge and our visual horizon swells with tons of hideous buildings, our frame of reference is being displaced at warp speed, consequently impacting our connection to our neighborhood and work place. Each constru ction site uncovers a peeling away, an erosion, a deconstruction. They are the remains of commerce, pieces of what the advertising world would like us to focus on. For myself, it is a canvas, an opportunity to reinvent the city. These photographic compositions are the result of the camerawork that has allowed me to construct a new order from the remains."
Thank you to all of the organizations, institutions, curators, artists and feverishly working others for bringing us the Berlin Art Week experience.
**(For more information on our Special Edition packages featuring ArtSlant Insiders and Watchlist for galleries, artists and art services, please contact Sunny@artslant.com.)
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