Hollywood and Silicon Valley, palms, sea, blue skies – California is “a land of milk and honey” with Villa Aurora right in the middle. In the 1940s, the former exile residence of Marta and Lion Feuchtwanger was a meeting point for European intellectuals. Today, it is an artists’ residence that embodies much more than “California Dreaming.”

Villa Aurora, on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, has teamed up with the Deutsche Bank KunstHalle to present nine Villa Aurora fellows in an exhibition entitled “Checkpoint California”. Works by Thomas Struth, Sabine Hornig, Christian Jankowski, Rosa Barba, Nairy Baghramian, Albrecht Schäfer, Philipp Lachenmann, Peggy Buth, and Michael Just expose experiences of transit and exile as well as transatlantic differences and contradictions.

“Checkpoint California” strives to raise awareness of historic movements and counter-movements, efforts of integration and dissociation, while assessing their various aspects, both positive and negative. At the same time, the exhibition celebrates the process of exchange and mediation successfully initiated by Villa Aurora over the past 20 years. “Checkpoint California” will be accompanied by an extensive program of concerts, film screenings, performances, and talks.

An exhibition presented by Villa Aurora and the Deutsche Bank KunstHalle.
Artists exhibited: Nairy Baghramian, Rosa Barba, Peggy Buth, Sabine Hornig, Christian Jankowski, Michael Just, Philipp Lachenmann, Albrecht Schäfer, Thomas Struth