The video walkthrough of Shota Nakamura’s first solo exhibition at Peres Projects, ‘Dear Moon,’ showcases the artist’s bright and textured dreamscape paintings, delicately described by a disembodied voice. The exhibition is on view at Peres Projects, Berlin from March 12–April 16, 2021.

For a period of three months, Galerie Rolando Anselmi was the site of a residency for artist Vincenzo Schillaci—the first in a series initiated by the gallery. Culminating in an exhibition titled ‘Rising of the Moon,’ Schillaci's experience focused on his new artistic project, Romanticism is not Romantico. Cropped details of skies, extracted from German Romanticism paintings, remodeled and scaled up, are the subjects of the artist’s series of oil paintings.

Video by MONA, Produced by Monica Salazar, Filmed and Edited by Peter Cairns

Visiting the artist in her Corpus Christi, Texas studio, we spoke to Katarina Janeckova Walshe about the process behind her paintings, how motherhood has altered her practice, and how she transforms her own personal issues and doubts into the work. From January 15th to February 27th, Dittrich & Schlechtriem in Berlin presents ‘Secrets of a Happy Household’, the first solo show with the gallery by Janeckova Walshe (b. 1988 in Bratislava, Slovakia, lives and works in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA).

Video by MONA, Produced by Monica Salazar, Filmed and Edited by Peter Cairns

Opened on December 6th, 2020, Esther Schipper presents Isa Melsheimer’s third solo exhibition with the gallery. Entitled ‘false ruins and lost innocence,’ the exhibition includes three large-scale ceramics, textile works, and a suite of gouaches. The three large-scale ceramics draw on existing buildings: the artist gives these landmarks an “interior” life that evokes theoretical debates in architectural discourse. One work, for example, juxtaposes Le Corbusier’s Villa Shodhan (Ahmedabad, 1951–56) with a horse’s head from the pediment of the Greek Parthenon, circa 438 BC, thus suggesting an organic element in the “machine for living in” as Le Corbusier famously referred to a house. The works in the exhibition play with the tenuous borders between the built environment and nature. In this video, Isa Melsheimer speaks about her inspiration for the works in ‘false ruins and lost innocence’ as well as her process and preoccupation with the history of architectural styles, from inside the exhibition room at Esther Schipper gallery.

Video by MONA, Produced by Anna Russ, Filmed and Edited by Robin Thomson

This year, Durjoy Bangladesh Foundation (DBF) hosted the second edition of the Majhi International Art Residency Program in Berlin, from August 24th to September 12th. The Berlin edition of the Majhi residency was the second in a series of brief artistic residencies, which DBF plans to initiate annually over a ten year period. Conceived by curator Zippora Elders, this year’s iteration of the program asked seven international artists to reflect on the question: “How to shape a society of care? On kinship and multiple homes.” This year's participants—Orawan Arunrak (Thailand/Germany), Johannes Büttner (Germany/Netherlands), Omar Chowdhury (Bangladesh/Australia), Rajkamal Kahlon (USA), Belle Phromchanya (Thailand/Netherlands), Bussaraporn Thongchai (Thailand/Germany) and Umut Yasat (Germany/Turkey)—offered a public presentation and closing exhibition during Gallery Weekend and Berlin Art Week at Der Bogen. The public program also included performances and artists talks by three of the discussion-round guests, Nguyễn + Transitory, Tonny Nowshin and Soy Division.

Video by MONA, Produced by Monica Salazar, Filmed and Edited by Peter Cairns

The exhibition 'urbainable – stadthaltig. Positions on the European City for the 21st Century', presented at Akademie der Künste from September 5th to November 22, 2020, looks at overarching themes in our conceptions of the "social city", including issues relating to climate change, digitalization and wealth disparities. The title of the exhibition 'urbainable – stadthaltig' follows the hypothesis that sustainability and the city cannot be seen in isolation from one other. It addresses the role of the European city in the age of global warming, demographic change and the breakdown of traditional social networks. We spoke to the curators Tim Rieniets, Matthias Sauerbruch and Jörn Walter about the concept behind the exhibition, the contributions and the surrounding program.

Stones have been a presence and recurring material and symbol in Ugo Rondinone's practice for several years. In 'nuns + monks', Rondinone continues to address the dual reflection between the inner self and the natural world through this material exploration, while presenting a pure sensory experience of color, form, and mass that aims to offer a contemporary experience of the sublime. 'nuns + monks' is on view at Esther Schipper, Berlin from September 11th to October 17th, 2020.

Video by MONA, Produced by Anna Russ, Filmed and Edited by Robin Thomson

‘Manifestations’ is Philippe Parreno’s eighth solo exhibition with Esther Schipper. It includes works spanning various media: a granular soundtrack, a CGI film, atmospheric sensors, robotic systems, computer code, ice and water. For this show, which opened during Berlin Art Week 2020, Parreno transformed his exhibition into a “sympoïetic system”, produced collectively by the assembly of objects. Every element of the exhibition has been conceived to be connected to one another, to look at, perceive, or see one another.

Video by MONA, Produced by Monica Salazar, Filmed and Edited by Peter Cairns

Opening during this year's Gallery Weekend Berlin, Andreas Greiner's solo exhibition ‘Jungle Memory’ at Dittrich & Schlechtriem recreates nature, representing his research into endangered forests in Germany and Poland. In his broad practice, Greiner probes the relationship between ecology and technology. Amid a simulated forest and light scenario that transforms the main gallery space at Dittrich & Schlechtriem, Greiner presents a large-format video work made with the aid of artificial intelligence. We interviewed the artist inside his immersive show, as he walked us through the process behind the exhibited works.

Video by MONA, Produced by Monica Salazar, Filmed and Edited by Peter Cairns

Drawing on natural ecosystems for inspiration and material, Frank Ekeberg’s audio compositions have a cyclical quality akin to the habitats they capture. Field recordings play a crucial role in Ekerberg’s practice and, for him, an environment’s sound quality reflects its overall health. Ekeberg’s sound piece ‘No Man’s Land’ is part of the current exhibition ‘The White, the Green, and the Dark: Contemporary Positions from Norway’ presented by the Norwegian Embassy in Berlin. Tracing the extinction of natural pollinators from the rainforest of Norway, ‘No Man’s Land’ is a critical reflection on the rapid and devastating effects of climate change in the region. We spoke to Ekeberg about this work, as well as his evolving practice and the process behind his audio compositions.

Video by MONA, Produced by Monica Salazar, Filmed and Edited by Peter Cairns