Ornate, delicately woven middle eastern textiles contrasted with the scent of charred wool, fire bombs, and caustic chemicals – this is the Museum of Islamic Art’s newest permanent exhibit, Traum und Trauma. The Pergamonmuseum – parent to the Museum of Islamic Art — has had this collection of rugs and textiles from present-day Turkey, Iran, and the Caucasus since its inception, gifted from Wilhelm von Bode’s personal collection. Some of the artefacts date as far back as the 15th century. The rugs are on display again for the first time since being irrevocably damaged in the 1945 fire-bombing of Berlin. Amidst controversy over cultural ownership of many of the Pergamonmuseum’s antiquities, this new exhibit discusses the layered history of these artefacts, from their artistic importance in the Middle East to their destruction in Western Europe. Reconstructions of the textiles, an olfactory station, and an interactive rug-knotting display guide you through the relics’ history. Despite the museum’s ongoing multi-year renovation, this new exhibit may be the reason you’ve been waiting for to return for a visit. (Text: Michael Rice / Photos: Pergamonmuseum)

Traum und Trauma, Pergamonmuseum, Bodestr.1–3, 10178 Berlin–Mitte; map
Fri-Wed 10–18h, Thu 10–20h

In an unassuming warehouse turned gallery in Weißensee, Austrian artist Thomas Feuerstein has created a mesmerizing microcosm of biology and art. The focal artwork of “Metabolica“ centers around the carbonization of algae, a process that takes hundreds of thousands of years in nature but can be accomplished with his otherworldly sculpture/pressure reactor in just 22 hours. He presses the coal from his reactor into charcoal pencils used to create the drawings featured in the exhibition. Metabolica explores the delicate balance between nature, science, and production. This exhibition is a must see from Sexauer Gallery. Buzz the front door to enter, and the staff will happily explain the artwork in both German and English. They may even turn off the gallery lights so you can fully appreciate the ethereal glow of Feuerstein’s creations. (Text: Michael Rice / Photos: Thomas Feuerstein / Metabolica)

Sexauer Gallery, Streustr.90, 13086 Berlin-Weißensee; map

Thomas Feuerstein “Metabolica”, on through 26.1.2019

Wed-Sat 13-18h and by appointment