Tucked away in an unassuming side street off Unter den Linden is one of the most distinctive examples of Berlin’s DDR architecture — an impressive octagonal building constructed in 1969 by Richard Paulick, the lead architect of Karl Marx Allee. It houses Schinkel Pavillon, a contemporary art institution with a curatorial program that’s been going from strength to strength under the creative direction of Nina Pohl. Currently on show is the late work of revered French-American artist Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010), known for her large-scale installations and sculptures exploring sexuality, family, decay and death. The main octagonal room hosts one of her cells, “Peaux des Lapins, Chiffons Ferrailles à Vendre” (2006) — an iron cage structure dedicated to the intersection of memory, pain and desire. Inside, an array of her sack forms in chiffon — resembling organs and genitals, are suspended next to chains, interacting with a column of marble pieces which alludes to a human spine: Lack and decay are omnipresent. Downstairs, four vitrines (2005-2010) and a series of red gouaches (2007-08) continue the artist’s exploration of interdependence and separation. Laden with emotion and subversion, the ensemble of pieces lingers on the mind long after a visit. (Text: Anna Dorothea Ker / Works c/o The Easton Foundation/VG Bild-Kunst / Photos: Andrea Rossetti)
Schinkel Pavillon, Oberwallstr.1, 10117 Berlin-Mitte; map
Thu-Sun 12-18h
Louise Bourgeois: The Empty House, through 29.7.2018
