Aufwiedersehen Berlin Art Week, see you next year! Slightly exhausted and highly inspired, we look back on all of the places we visited and (dis)liked (read the first two diaries of our pilgrimage through the art venues of Berlin here & here). As if that wasn't enough, abc art fair gave us an extra kick - some of us were seriously high on art (read the first impressions by Despina and  Nathan ). Luckily for those who missed all the fun, it is fading out slowly with a plenty of still ongoing events. 

 

FRIDAY 20.09

Mark Flood @ Peres Projects

Having seen Flood’s installation at the P.P. booth for art berlin contemporary a day prior, and considering the artist’s aesthetic, the show was particularly sterile. The Mitte gallery was filled with very large ‘art-star-scale’ paintings with a few people milling about. The cleanliness of the space combined with the scale of the work made me a little uncomfortable, the way you feel when you walk into a boutique and the clerk is watching you waiting for you to buy something. Nevertheless there are a few good pieces hanging, however the impact was light. I felt as though I had already seen the show thanks to the gallery’s heavily active instagram feed. +6 for an attentive, friendly gallery staff. (C)

^{Exhibition ongoing until 09.11}

 

Kirsten Klöckner / Eran Schaerf @ Akademie der Künste

Eran Schaerf: Dissorder of Appearance

Internet, politics, intermedial, ... - the keywords from the contemporary art recipe for success are here. And the guy obviously knows how to use it - this year he was the winner of  the Käthe-Kollwitz-Preis.

 I loved the heavy chains vs light curtains contrast. It may sound silly, but it had a certain fashion design quality. It reminded me of chain pieces with references to politics and religion made by a jewellery designer from Barcelona. 

 

Kirsten Klöckner: BeuteKunst I und II

A table full of incredibly intriguing and humorous objects. It is pretty similar to most of the stuff at flea markets and Trödels - it's all very interesting but you wouldn't / couldn't really use any of it.

The rest wasn't as interesting to me, therefore I provide a photo with le Corbusier in the front. (A)

^{Exhibitions ongoing until 03.11}

 

Autocenter Party @ Kosmetiksalon Babette

The after party at Babette swiftly became the place to be on Friday night after all the hustle of Art Week. We unfortunately arrived too late for the performance, but it was soon filled with a veritable constellation of art celebrities. A paparazzi wet dream. Thankfully there wasn’t really any room to take pictures. +12 for very affordable draft beer. (C)

 

SATURDAY 21.09

Jeppe Hein @ St. Agnes

It didn't look like the watercolour works really belong to this show. I'm guessing it was probably a result of pragmatical thinking = huge space + why not. It's not that they were uncompatible with the rest, they just looked like an addition that can but doesn't need to be there. The huge rotating mirror was obviously the reason to attend. The rest seemed to be there in order not to dissapoint the audience with the volume of content, although the quantity was proved as irrelevant a few months ago with the amazing minimalist installation by Alicja Kwade that won a lot of attention during the Gallery Weekend.

 

This time again, it was all about the former-church space and its spiritual (obviously) and even futuristic feel, and when you install something so impressive (in size, at least) in such a space, something that even accentuates its features, people turn their heads up in awe and take their time to appreciate. St. Agnes should really be on the top of artists' gallery wishlist for its ability to label the exhibit with flattering kitsch epithets ("divine!").

This was actually my favorite piece (+33). I thought the mirror was amazing mostly because it amazed so many people there. And you can't really ignore its proportions... But this 'little' piece had totally opposite qualities to the huge show-off and was absolutely beautiful. (A)

^{Exhibition ongoing until 20.10}

 

Liquid Autist @ Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler

The group show at the Kraupa-Tuskany was well attended for a 4th floor gallery, but the work difficult to see as it was on the ground next to the walls. Okay, yes, it was an opening but some of the smaller works of Michael Wang’s (which were quite good) were getting knocked around by the feet of gossiping art hipsters, too oblivious to notice. A point of interest was going though the building to get to the gallery. I like the idea of it being in an office building. You pass the security desk and take the elevator. Then walk down a long row of doors, with the 9-5 swagger, until you reach the art. (C)

^{Exhibition ongoing until 26.10}

 

Franz Ackermann / Tobias Zielony @ Berlinische Galerie

Hands down, Franz Ackermann dominates Paining Forever! with his work at Berlinische Galerie. A massive installation vomits color on visitors at the entrance to the gallery. My eyes and neck were in pain within a few minutes, but is a very impressive collection of largely new works. It’s good to see a current example of how painting never died. +14 for using neon pigment properly. (C)

^{Exhibition ongoing until 31.03}

 

As for Tobias Zielony, I need to admit that I normally have a hard time with photography and generally scan over the works with little patience (probably as a result of being destroyed by our visually over-stimulated internet reality). However Jenny Jenny made me calm down a little and actually look. But still I have ADD at photography shows.  +9 for the slide projector providing a great narrative of text. (C)

^{Exhibition ongoing until 30.09}

 

SUNDAY 22.09

MISS READ Art Book Fair @ Station Berlin

Don't judge a book by it's covers... What a foolish thing to say

Some presentation going on... Everybody's favorite Kenneth Goldsmith on screen

Everybody's favorite Miranda July on Merve Verlag stand

Discovered FUKT (+15) - a lovely magazine for contemporary drawing

+7 for...well, you see it. It's funny. For nerds only, I guess. (A)

 

Painting Forever! To Paint Is To Love Again @ Deutsche Bank KunstHalle

After a serious overdose with paintings (the "Painting Forever!" slogan is starting to sound really scary now...), I didn't have the capacity to fully appreciate this exhibition. What you see is what I liked - especially the non-painting pieces (coincidence?). (A)

^{Exhibition ongoing until 10.11}

 

Pique Dame @ Altes Finanzamt

Good music + good visuals. It was a perfect a/v experience for a Sunday evening. I felt so bad afterwards for not giving any Spende for the artists - actually, not having any to give. It was at least a 5 euro concert. It would be 10 in a more appropriate space - this one couldn't give the right support to the sound that was supposed to permeate everything around it. Even the shutter sound of my camera was louder than the music (therefore only one photo). It didn't hurt the atmosphere though; the melancholy was spreading efficiently from the loudspeakers and the screen with black&white footage. (A)