The Best and Worst of the Berlin Art Scene

Article by Corinna Kirsch in Berlin // Wednesday, May 4, 2011

As a freelancer, I have a small and nearly empty bank account, but I still dream about buying artworks off the gallery walls. Of course, not all great art can hang above a couch, so my fanciful thoughts then fade to debating the merits of the works on hand and the art scene itself—typical thoughts for a critic and curator.

Buy

Gabriel Kuri’s Euro-filled sculptures at Esther Schipper

These works serve as a reminder that the Euro is a global financial powerhouse—and the U.S. dollar pales in comparison. If not bought for future investment purposes, Kuri’s works act as ethical barometers for gallery-goers. Anyone could easily pluck one of the Euros from the corners of Kuri’s marble sculptures!

All the S&M related works in Berlin right now
Dean Sameshima at Peres Projects (Mitte) and Dorothy Iannone at Galerie Wien/Lukatsch

Tweet

John Bock at Klosterfelde

Bock’s installation entices you to look closer at the gallery architecture in his suprising, chaotic, and still very logical haunted-house renovation to the Klosterfelde space. In this installation, the windows, doors, and molding of the gallery were made to open, shut, and spring out of the walls. Walking past the enlivened architecture, Bock’s silvery “artifacts” line the hallway leading to the gallery office. Both gross and delicate at the same time, Bock’s artifacts casually riff into the high seriousness about what an art object should be. Another bonus to the opening night at Klosterfelde: an assortment of tacos and Mexican beer that made me homesick for authentic south of the border chow.

Sterling Ruby at Sprüth Magers
Selections: Morris, Trockel, Holzer & Pink at Sprüth Magers

Although I AM NOT FREE BECAUSE I CAN BE EXPLODED ANYTIME looks a lot like SUPERMAX 2008, Ruby’s solo exhibition at LACMA, the works are still powerful, evoking viscera that hang, tower, and push through the gallery. Not to be missed is Ruby’s curated exhibition in the upstairs gallery, Selections: Morris, Trockel, Holzer & Pink, featuring a surprisingly sexually evocative Robert Morris sculpture.

Burn

The frieze d/e launch party’s “porta-potty” filled with American girls in harem pants shrieking about “How weird it is that there’s so many English speakers here!” Yes, everyone already knows this, but don’t state the obvious, ladies.

Any artwork with a surprise at the end of the installation. A surprise ending is just a way of stating that you don’t know how to tie together the individual elements of your work. The cinematic equivalent of this is the surprise ending where the main character wakes up to find out that the entire film that you just wasted two hours watching was “just a dream”.