Berlin only truly awakens from its hibernation when Gallery Weekend (28–30.04.2023) comes around. And well rested you should be given how many exhibition openings, events and talks are taking place over the coming days: 55 galleries throughout the city are taking part in the official program. The list of artists includes big names – like Cy Twombly at Galerie Bastianand Hito Steyerl at Esther Schipper – as well as many exciting newcomers. At gallery Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler, the artist collective Slavs and Tatars explore the mythological significance of the melon in Central Asia. Kasia Korczak and Payam Sharifi are known for conveying whimsical narratives with depth and for humorously illustrating anthropological issues. German artist Britta Thie knows a thing or two about striking contemporary images: in her 2015 web TV series Translantics, she nails the tone of our wifi-addicted world. At Wentrup in Charlottenburg, she processes her own experiences as an actress on a major film set in a series of new works.
Isolation and smartphone addiction are also themes addressed by superstar painter Adrian Ghenie: his paintings and charcoal drawings can be seen in the impressive new rooms of Plan B on Strausberger Platz. The Chinese artist Cao Fei utilizes film as a medium. In her works at Sprüth Magers, the celebrated video artist sketches versions of the future that lie somewhere between metaverse and apocalypse. You can also look forward to video projects that slip into the utopian realm at Ebensperger in Wedding: here, German video artist Bjørn Melhus presents his new work, Gatekeepers, in which fictional surveillance and real borders collide. We are especially looking forward to Sophie Reinhold’s first solo exhibition at Galerie Nordenhake. Born in 1981, the Berlin-based artist will be showing new paintings that she makes from marble powder and bitumen, a tar substitute. So: on your marks, get set, go! You can get a good night’s sleep next weekend.
Text: Laura Storfner / Credit: Cy Twombly, courtesy Bastian / Jason Martin, courtesy the artist & Buchmann Galerie Berlin, Photo: Dave Morgan / Andreas Eriksson, courtesy the artist and neugerriemschneider, Photo: Studio Andreas Eriksson
Gallery Weekend, various galleries throughout the city
28.04 18–21h, 29.04 11–19h & 30.04 11–18h
Galerie Bastian, Taylorstr.1, 14195 Berlin–Dahlem; map
Cy Twombly – Forms and Shades 29.04–17.06.2023
Esther Schipper, Potsdamer Str.81e/3. Stock, 10785 Berlin–Tiergarten; map
Hito Steyerl – Contemporary Cave Art, 28.04–25.05.2023
Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler, Kohlfurter Str.41/43, 10999 Berlin–Kreuzberg; map
Hang Don’t Cut: Slavs and Tatars feat. Andrey Anro, Dozie Kanu, Mina Masoumi, Lin May Saeed, 28.04–29.07.2023
Wentrup, Knesebeckstr.95, 10623 Berlin–Charlottenburg; map
Britta Thie – Scene 28.04–02-06.2023
Plan B, Strausberger Platz 1, 10243 Berlin–Friedrichshain; map
Adrian Ghenie until 13.05.2023
Sprüth Magers, Oranienburger Str.18, 10178 Berlin–Mitte; map
Cao Fei – Duotopia, 29.04–19.08.2023
Ebensperger, Plantagenstr.30, 13347 Berlin–Wedding; map
Bjørn Melhus – [dramatic music continues], 28.04–17.06.2023
Galerie Nordenhake, Lindenstr.34, 10969 Berlin–Kreuzberg; map
Sophie Reinhold – Träum weiter, 28.04–01.07.2023
