all the lonely people

Saâdane Afif, Vajiko Chachkhiani, Louisa Clement, Lauren Halsey, Johnston Marklee, Annika Kahrs, Susan Philipsz, Anri Sala, April Street, Thomas Struth, Kaari Upson, Andrea Zittel

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Villa Aurora, VATMH (Villa Aurora & Thomas Mann House) presents the exhibition all the lonely people at silent green Kulturquartier. The exhibition, curated by Nana Bahlmann, examines the ancient figure of the hermit against the backdrop of the current pandemic. The show presents examples of loneliness, melancholy, and longing, as well as physical and mental withdrawal. Some of the works by former Villa Aurora fellows and Los Angeles–based artists, have been created during periods of personal isolation, others have been newly conceived for the exhibition. After Berlin, all the lonely people will travel to LAXART in Los Angeles.

all the lonely people makes the experience of isolation and solitude visible. In doing so, the artworks take up traditional motifs associated with hermitage—retreat into nature, contemplation, and the dualities of inside and outside, exchange and silence, exclusion and trauma—and apply them to some of today’s urgent questions. They offer new perspectives on loneliness in the digital age, off-grid self-sufficiency, and imaginary places of refuge in the midst of gentrification and systemic oppression. 

The exhibition examines the ancient figure of the hermit against the backdrop of the current pandemic. Some of the works by former Villa Aurora fellows and Los Angeles-based artists, have been created during periods of personal isolation, others have been newly conceived for the exhibition. 

The exhibition architecture was designed by the LA-based architecture firm Johnston Marklee and is an artistic contribution with reference to the architecture of Villa Aurora. 

The exhibition is accompanied by a supporting program of films, readings, talks, performances and concerts featuring: Tanja Dückers, Felicitas Hoppe, Monika Rinck, Yoko Tawada, Senthuran Varatharajah, Planningtorock aka Jam Rostron, Olaf Nicolai & Public Possession, and many others.  A parallel film series, curated by Jan-Ole Gerster, will take place at Wolf Kino in Neukölln. 

About Villa Aurora: In the 1940s and 1950s, Marta and Lion Feuchtwanger’s legendary Los Angeles home was a meeting place for artists and others escaping Nazi persecution. The emigrants went on to have a tremendous impact on life and culture in California. In 1995, Villa Aurora became an artist residency and since then has hosted over 350 artists, reclaiming its title as a home for international cultural exchange. While at Villa Aurora, artists are inspired by American culture and nature, the legacy of exile, and its artists in residence. Villa Aurora has been affiliated with the Thomas Mann House since 2017. 

silent green was established in 2013 and has evolved from a project space into a lively cultural campus that hosts various institutions and creative initiatives. Situated in the historic and iconic Crematorium Berlin-Wedding, silent green connects different artistic disciplines and expands traditional boundaries to create new, hybrid forms of cultural production. 

Exhibition continues:
Nov 10, 2021–Jan 8, 2022
LAXART
7000 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood California

Press contacts 
Send/Receive
Anne Maier 
anne@sendreceive.eu

Villa Aurora & Thomas Mann House e. V.
Heike Catherina Mertens
Executive Director
infoberlin@vatmh.org

The exhibition is generously supported by the German Federal Foreign Office, the Berlin Senate Chancellery, the Friede Springer Foundation and a private patron. 

The supporting program is funded by the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and Wolf Kino.