Berlin Art Week
15–20 September 2015
www.berlinartweek.de
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The fourth Berlin Art Week will combine exhibition openings, art fairs, art prizes, and tours while providing insights into private collections and project spaces. In addition, this year’s Berlin Art Week will be directing attention each day to a special focus.
Tuesday 15 September
On Tuesday, 15 September, Berlin Art Week kicks off with citywide exhibition openings at 6 pm—among them, the joint project STADT/BILD (Image of a City), which includes three large exhibition openings and a happening in public space, openings at n.b.k. and at nGbK, and a reception at Schinkel Pavillon.
Nationalgalerie will be showing STADT/BILD. Fluids. A Happening by Allan Kaprow, 1967/2015. Berlin-based artists have been invited to react to Kaprow’s legendary happenings from 1967. A total of five versions of Fluids will be created in Berlin’s city space during Berlin Art Week. For the opening night, a reconstruction of the original ice block structure will be erected at Neue Nationalgalerie. The exhibition STADT/BILD. Xenopolis at Deutsche Bank KunstHalle, curated by Simon Njami, focuses on the city as a living organism. The world’s capital cities share the fact that they truly belong to no one. They are free zones: xenopolei. Historically, a capital has always been the place where a given nation shows its identity, an identity composed of all its regions and provinces. The exhibition features the work of Laurence Bonvin, Loris Cecchini, Theo Eshetu, Mwangi Hutter, Anri Sala, and Jan-Peter E.R. Sonntag. The “jungle” at the heart of the group exhibition at KW Institute of Contemporary Art serves as a desired imaginary space, symbolizing the subconscious, potentially dangerous counterpart to the controlled urban environment. International and Berlin-based artists investigate ideas of the self and the other, and together draw a mental map of the present and the real or merely possible life forms within it. With Ute Adamczewski, Ulf Aminde, Nina Beier, Julius von Bismarck, Loretta Fahrenholz, Sven Johne, Tobias Madison, Stephen G. Rhodes, and Camilla Wills. Brandlhuber + Hertweck, Mayfried are also devising a spatial intervention for the entrance hall of Berlinische Galerie that critically reflects on the museum as an institution, its exhibition conventions and constraints.
In cooperation with Berlinische Galerie, n.b.k. (Neuer Berliner Kunstverein) will be showing Ich kenne kein Weekend, Archive and Collection René Block. The exhibition is dedicated to the manifold and interdisciplinary work of gallery owner and exhibition maker René Block. His career began in 1964 in West Berlin, where he opened his gallery with the legendary show Neodada, Pop, Décollage, Kapitalistischer Realismus.
Redemption Jokes at nGbK (neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst) seeks to combine humour and social critique in contemporary art. The project will explore artistic forms of emancipatory humour, heartfelt laughter in the face of hegemonic orders, and subversive anti-humour. The silly, funny, or comic transgress conventions and routines in different ways.
Last but not least, Schinkel Pavillon will hold a reception as part of its exhibition of American artist Paul McCarthy. His abject art refers to his 2005 work Paul Dreaming, Vertical, Horizontal. By presenting his own naked body, he occupies the site literally and physically. For the project, realized in cooperation with Berlin’s Volksbühne, the artist transforms the glazed exhibition space at Schinkel Pavillon into a sacred and yet morbid location.
Wednesday 16 September
On Wednesday Berlin collectors (such as the private collections Sammlung Boros, Sammlung Haubrok, Sammlung Ivo Wessel and Salon Dahlmann) open up their venues for a visit for the first time this week. On the evening prior to the opening of abc art berlin contemporary, all participating Berlin galleries will open their exhibitions at their local gallery spaces during abc Gallery Night. Wednesday also marks the opening of Cindy Sherman: Works from the Olbricht Collection at me Collectors Room.
Thursday 17 September
The abc art berlin contemporary will open on Thursday. Around 100 galleries from 17 countries will present artists from their programmes at Station Berlin at Gleisdreieck. For the first time, the architectural concept was developed by June 14 Meyer-Grohbrügge & Chermayeff. A further highlight will be the exhibition Proximities and Desire, showing works from Berlin’s private collections, curated by Nikola Dietrich. Featuring 78 exhibitors from 16 countries, this year’s Positions Berlin—Art Fair is moving to a new venue, Berlin’s Arena. To mark the 20th anniversary of its founding, Landesverband Berliner Galerien (lvbg) will also present an exhibition at Positions’ new venue.
Friday 18 September
Friday is all about the project spaces: the new format Xchange and the Award Ceremony for the 14 winners of this year’s Project Space Art Award. The 2015 Project Space Art Award will be presented under the auspices of the Berlin Senate Chancellery—Cultural Affairs. The award ceremony is organized by the Network of Berlin Independent Project Spaces and Initiatives to 14 award winners: Autocenter, Berlin-Weekly, Bublitz, die raum, G.A.S.-station, Grimmuseum, insitu, Kinderhook & Caracas, Kotti-Shop, Meinblau e.V., rosalux, Rumpsti Pumsti, SCHAU FENSTER and tête. The new format Xchange by the Project Space Festival Berlin presents 10 project spaces that make a contextual as well as spatial exchange: Archive Kabinett—Decad, District—Kreuzberg Pavillon, Erratum—Vesselroom Project, General Public—tête, and LAGE EGAL—ZÖNOTÉKA.
Friday evening also marks the opening of Alicia Kwade’s solo show Monologue from the 11th floor at Haus am Waldsee and the Award Ceremony of this year’s Preis der Nationalgalerie 2015, which will be awarded to one of the four nominated artists: Christian Falsnaes, Florian Hecker, Anne Imhof, and Slavs and Tatars. Ceremonies to be held at Hamburger Bahnhof.
Friday + Saturday / 18 + 19 September
Berlin Art Week is pleased to cooperate with Talking Galleries for the first time this year, creating a site-specific event and presenting two discussion panels especially devised to reflect upon international trends and the particular gallery landscape in Berlin. Talking Galleries/Berlin will offer a platform for gallerists and art professionals to discuss and exchange ideas about new trends and issues specific to the art gallery sector. Leading figures from the art world will be brought together to discuss the subsequent impact of these changes, share experiences and rethink existing models, creating an ideal environment for investigation and sharing knowledge. The discussions are led by Chris Dercon and Chus Martínez. Speakers: Dr. Sabine Breitwieser, Angela Choon, Harald Falckenberg amongst others.
Saturday + Sunday / 19 + 20 September
On Saturday and Sunday, all Berlin Art Week exhibitions will be on view. Niche Berlin will offer tours to selected project spaces, art fairs, and institutions.
For more information, updates, and the programme, please visit www.berlinartweek.de.
Berlin Art Week is made possible by the Senate Administration for Economy, Technology, and Research and funded by Deutsche Bank. Coordination and communication is managed by Kulturprojekte Berlin GmbH.
Press contact
For more information or high-resolution images, please contact:
Susanne Kumar-Sinner
Communication Berlin Art Week
Kulturprojekte Berlin
Klosterstr. 68, D-10179 Berlin
T +49 30 247 49 849 / s.kumar [at] kulturprojekte-berlin.de
