Twisted, entangled guard rails, bicycle stands and barricades – Bettina Pousttchi’s installations seem both familiar and fragile. These anthropomorphic sculptures, stripped of their original functions and displayed colorfully in museums, distort conceptions of freedom and security in public spaces. The Berlin-based artist works fluidly between sculpture, photography and architecture, and her works are often site-specific and engage with their surroundings. For the solo exhibition “In Recent Years” at the Berlinische Galerie, the museum itself has become an exhibit: like an ornamental net, a giant photo installation stretches across the entire glass façade of the building, evoking elements of Middle Eastern architecture. Again and again, Pousttchi succeeds, both playfully and emotionally, in interweaving supposed contrasts – such as national and social identities – through subtle interventions. A successful show that offers a conciliatory perspective on urban architecture. (Text: Hanna Komornitzyk / Photos: Berlinische Galerie, Jens Ziehe, Noshe)

Berlinische Galerie, Alte Jakobstr.124–128, 10969 Berlin–Kreuzberg; map
Wed–Mon 10–18h
“In Recent Years” by Bettina Pousttchi: until 06.04.2020
@berlinischegalerie