You can spot the white canvases on the facade of the Haus am Waldsee long before you reach the villa. Artist Karin Sander hung them when she reopened this West Berlin institution following lengthy renovations. Sander has worked on “Patina Paintings” for over ten years, elevating the process of weathering to art. At Waldsee, the simple white canvases document the influence of external forces and the traces of the past dwelling inside the building. Apart from the technical specs (format, size, year and title), the renovated halls have been left completely empty. Yet the names offer insight into the former uses for each space. As you stroll from the billiard room to the dining hall, the emptiness begins to fill up with history. Sander lets the walls do the talking: The villa was the private home of Jewish manufacturer Hermann Knobloch before becoming an exhibition space after World War Two. Subtly, she transfers the curatorial principle of the retrospective onto the site itself. (Text: Laura Storfner / Photos: Andrea Rossetti, Haus am Waldsee, Karin Sander)
Haus am Waldsee, Argentinische Allee 30, 14163 Berlin-Zehlendorf; map
Karin Sander – A to Z: Tue–Sun 11–18h (from 3.3.2019)
