While the other galleries have closed for summer holiday, there remain a few die-hards that have opted to stay open during these beautiful Berlin summer days in order to deliver the goods! Here are a few worth your time. Beat the heat by enjoying cool art.

Hortus Semper Virens – Christiane Möbus und Ihre Klasse @ Haus am Lützowplatz

As a rule, group shows tend to disappoint and amaze simultaneously. However, this exhibition marking the retirement of Christiane Möbus from the Universität der Künste happens to provide the latter. Considering the roster of students that Möbus has taught over the years, it is definitely an attractive collection of work. The show can satiate most tastes as it is a veritable spectrum of media: video, installation, photography, sculpture, prints, even little geometric structures made out of human hair! If you are curious about the next generation of up and comers, you should take the time to visit Haus am Lützowplatz before it’s too late.

Runs until August 31st

VIS VITALIS – Tue Greenfort / David Zink Ye @ Johann König, Berlin

Johann König offers a duo exhibition that has been extended by popular demand, and here’s why. First, VIS VITALIS by Tue Greenfort shows us an alternative take on environment and the politics surrounding global food production. It’s refreshing in the sense that the narrative isn’t necessarily shoved down the viewers throat, rather quietly presented in a manner that invites you to discover the message instead of retreat from a barrage of information. Complete with kinetic time-based sculptural works that have transformed during the length of the exhibit. Love the carpet!

Second is David Zink Ye. This work must be seen in person to really appreciate the beauty and surreal qualities imbedded. Let’s just say, that if you get queasy seeing fish washed ashore walking on the beach, you may want to bring a friend with you. You should bring a friend with you anyway. Highly recommended.

Extended until August 23rd

^{Image courtesy of Johann König, Berlin}

New Works - Anna Fasshauer @ Galerie Nagel Draxler

Simply put, one of the best uses for drywall construction profiles you may ever see. Anna Fasshauer has managed to take a material so ridged and albeit coarse, and transformed it into these casually positioned forms that lend themselves to an aesthetic of passivity and ease. As though you want to lie on them and watch a movie. Except that would be really uncomfortable. They are abstract in nature, and provide a solace of comfort. The term ‘undustrial’ comes to mind when contemplating their paradox.

Runs until September 10th

My Paper Sunglasses - Group Exhibition @ SomoS

The forests might disagree, but the show at SomoS reveals an excellent example of the potential of paper. For it’s fifth run, My Paper Sunglasses comes to Berlin showcasing local and Brazilian talent. Artists and designers were invited to create a pair of paper sunglasses and the results are definitely curious, surprising, and fun! Upwards of 40 works are on display with some audience created gems that were done during the opening at the “make your own sunglasses” table (We made 5 pairs!). You can really get a sense of ones identity when exploring the individual takes on ‘sunglasses’ that the artists have created. As well, there is a silent auction that runs throughout the duration of the exhibition where you can purchase these amazing sonnebrille. Be sure not to miss the finissage on Thursday, August 21st where the winning bids will be announced.

Runs until August 21st

Frankfurter Block - Reinhard Mucha, 
Eine Ansammlung von Gegenständen - Peter Fischli/David Weiss,
Give Back the Kingdom - Anna Vogel @ Sprüth Magers

Sprüth Magers offers a triple whammy right now, with three exhibitions from four artists. All are quite compelling. Frankfurter Block by Reinhard Mucha requires some time, as it is extensive. Although, once explored, rewards one with a sense of wonder. The amount of self-referrencial material is mind boggling. You wonder what sort of storage space Mucha requires. The large installation filled with objects and fabricated ephemera, delves deep into the artist’s own history, re-evaluating previous exhibitions and life development. Included is a gallery built within a gallery. That alone is worth the trip.

Next is Give Back the Kingdom by Anna Vogel. One can instantly fall in love with Vogel’s photography work as she approaches the medium with a fresh eye. She collages her works or found images together. Or scratches lines onto the surface that reference the mechanical process with which the print is made. The lines also bring to mind a Geiger counter, seismology, or lie detector printouts. Also curious is the execution of installation as the works are hung either above or below the standard height.

Upstairs is Eine Ansammlung von Gegenständen by Peter Fischli/David Weiss. If you didn’t know the objects in this installation were made of polyurethane, you may be cleverly deceived. Being only able to glimpse from the door, one sees an assortment of brick-a-brack items seemingly collected from a garage or museum prep room. It is a wonderful exercise in looking. There are playful associations with the arrangement of everything, for example, cans of spray paint beside empty liquor bottles next to a horseshoe. Not to mention there is a musty aroma that convinces you the things here are real. Great stuff.

Runs until August 30th