Sept. 8, 2022
The 11th edition of Berlin Art Week kicks off next week from the 14th to 18th of September. Annually, Berlin Art Week becomes a platform for Berlin’s most important art institutions to showcase the latest of the Berlin contemporary art scene. This year, according to the organisers, marks a shift in the landscape of art events in the city—more and more have moved to the outskirts if not to the countryside surrounding Berlin. This can be seen in the official programme of Berlin Art Week as well as the various events happening alongside it. Joining venues like the Fahrbereitschaft and Wilhelm Hallen in their far-removed locations is nGbk, which struggled for years to keep its space in Kreuzberg but now has relocated to the station urbaner kulturen in Hellersdorf, a district in the far east of Berlin. Other events happening at the same time include the programme of E-Werk Luckenwalde, whose venue is a former coal power station that can be reached in 45 minutes by regional train.
To serve as a guide to during these intense, art-filled days, we’ve complied a hit-list to highlight some of the most anticipated and exciting exhibitions and events. To help you fill in the moments between shows, check out our art-themed Hotel and Restaurant Guide.
KINDL – Zentrum für zeitgenössische Kunst
Mona Hatoum: ‘all of a quiver’
Opening Reception: Saturday, Sept. 17; 6–9pm
Exhibition: Sept. 18, 2022–May 24, 2023
kindl-berlin.de
Am Sudhaus 3, 12053 Berlin, click here for map
‘all of a quiver’ is just one part of the first ever large-scale survey of the work of Palestinian London-based artist Mona Hatoum taking place across three venues in the city. Her presentation at the KINDL, however, will be the longest running of the three shows and it features a work specially designed for the space. The other venues hosting survey’s of the artist’s works are the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Georg Kolbe Museum.
Since the 1990s, Hatoum has been creating large-scale installations where she takes mundane objects and re-defines the viewers perception of them, by making them seem threatening and unfamiliar, engaging with the constant conflict and contradictions that exist within systems and institutions of migration and injustice. For the KINDL, Hatoum has developed a new work that takes advantage of the towering height of the Kesselhaus. The kinetic, site-specific installation will consist of a tall, gridded structure resembling the frame of a building in a state of construction or deconstruction.
Mona Hatoum: ‘Hot Spot III,’ 2009, Stainless Steel and neon lights, 234x223x223 cm // Photo by dot gain.com
Schinkel Pavillon
Jon Rafman: ‘Ɛցɾҽցօɾҽʂ and Grimoires’
Anna Uddenberg: ‘FAKE-ESTATE’
Opening Reception: Wednesday, Sept. 14; 6pm
Exhibition: Sept. 15–Dec. 31, 2022
schinkelpavillon.de
Oberwallstraße 1, 10117 Berlin, click here for map
The Schinkel Pavillion is celebrating its 15th anniversary with two major exhibitions taking up the two floors of the space. Berlin-based artist Anna Uddenberg will present a solo exhibition titled ‘FAKE-ESTATE,’ a site-specific installation used for an ongoing durational live performance. It focuses on the ‘furnituresque’ parts of her sculptural practice. Jon Rafman will present two new narrative film works in the Schinkel Pavillon’s iconic lower-level. ‘Minor Daemon, Vol. 1’ (2021) and ‘In Punctured Sky’ (2021). One of the key voices emerging from the post-internet moment, Rafman’s work explores subjects of fantasy, world building, online subcultures, and the virtual world of gaming.
Jon Rafman: ‘Punctured Sky,’ 2021, video still // Courtesy of the Artist and Sprüth Magers
Goldrausch Künstlerinnenprojekt
Group Show: ‘Tender Hooks – Goldrausch 2022’
Opening Reception: Friday, Sept. 9; 5–10pm
Exhibition: Sept. 10–Oct. 30, 2022
goldrausch.org
Kommunale Galerie Berlin, Hohenzollerndamm 176, 10713 Berlin, click here for map
Since 1989 the Goldrausch Kunstlerinnenprojekt, a one-year long postgraduate program, has been dedicated to creating opportunities for female artists in their field. Their closing show, titled ‘Tender Hooks,’ will feature the 15 women artists, who have participated in the program. For the first time the exhibition, opening right before Berlin Art Week, will be held at the Kommunale Galerie Berlin in Berlin-Wilmersdorf, where every week talks, tours or screenings will be presented in conjunction with the show.
Constanze Vogt: ‘reifen #3 – #6,’ 2020, wooden hoops, cotton yarn
E-WERK Luckenwalde
Lindsay Seers & Keith Sargent in collaboration with Performance Electrics: ‘Cold Light’
Arantxa Etcheverria, Adelina Ivan, Alina Popa: ‘The Real Line’
Opening Reception: Saturday, Sept. 17; 12–6pm
Exhibition: Sept. 17–Dec. 11, 2022
kunststrom.com
Rudolf-Breitscheid-Straße 73, 14943 Luckenwalde, click here for map
E-Werk is introducing a new video installation and virtual reality work by Lindsay Seers & Keith Sargent in collaboration with Performance Electrics for EW’s Turbine Hall and Engine Room. The exhibition comprises the artist’s research into the work of inventor Nicola Tesla, alluding to the historical paradigm shift when society stopped being reliant on fire for illumination. The new electric light bulbs were referred to as “Cold Light.” E-werk will simultaneously exhibit ‘The Real Line’ by Bucharest artists Arantxa Etcheverria, Adelina Ivan and Alina Popa, who are connected through their interest in geometric patterns and shapes. In their work, they also reflect on gender roles, particularly the role of women in the private familial space.
Lindsay Seers & Keith Sargent: ‘Cold Light,’ 2022, VR still
C|O Berlin
Group Show: ‘Queerness in Photography’
Opening Reception: Friday, Sept. 16; 8pm–1:30am
Exhibition: Sept. 17, 2022–Jan. 18, 2023
co-berlin.org
Amerika Haus, Hardenbergstraße 22-24, 10623 Berlin, click here for map
C/O Berlin presents an examination and reflection of the representations of identity and gender in photography. How does the act of photographing take a role in finding one’s identity or gender exploration? The exhibition focuses on the contradiction between photography’s historical role of being a tool of marginalization and discrimination and simultaneously creating the possibility of liberation. ‘Queerness in Photography’ pulls from a history of photographers who have used this medium to empower marginalized communities.
Lynn Hershman Leeson: ‘Rowlands/Bogart (Female Dominant),’ from the series ‘Hero Sandwich,’ 1982 // Photo by Lynn Hershman Lesson
Gropius Bau
Group Show: ‘YOYI! Care, Repair, Heal’
Opening Reception: Thursday, Sept. 15; 6pm
Exhibition: Sept. 16, 2022–Jan. 15, 2023
gropiusbau.de
Niederkirchnerstraße 7, 10963 Berlin, click here for map
On Thursday, September 15th, Gropius Bau will host a large-scale exhibition centering on caring, repairing and healing featuring the works of 26 artists. Through installation, painting, audio and an extensive performance program, the show examines issues such as the politics of health, the resilience of Indigenous knowledge systems, forms of kinship, fair land use and its distribution, decoloniality and the rights of the non-human. The ambitious exhibition aims to establish common ground on a matter whose relevance for individuals, communities and institutions is all the more acute in a time defined by the pandemic and climate change. The title of the show, ‘YOYI,’ takes its cue from the Tiwi culture in northern Australia. It is the name of the ceremonial song, dance and coming together both in celebration and mourning.
Kader Attia: ‘On Silence,’ 2021, Protheses, variable dimensions // Courtesy of the Artist, Galerie Nagel Draxler and Lehmann Maupin; Commissioned by Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; photo by Markus Elbaus
Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi
Ed Atkins
Opening Reception: Tuesday, Sept. 13; 6–9pm
Exhibition: Sept. 14–Nov. 5, 2022
bortolozzi.com
Schöneberger Ufer 61, 10785 Berlin, click here for map
Ed Atkins is a Berlin-based British contemporary artist best known for his video art and poetry. His work is a complex exploration of the relationship between the body and technology, in which he often creates high definition avatars from stock images. The exhibition at Isabella Bortolozzi consists of new, realistic artworks. Simultaneously, a première of the ‘Sorcerer’ (2022), a feature-length film written and directed with Steven Zultanski, will be screened at Eden Eden. To see the film, a viewing slot can be booked on Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi’s website.
Ed Atkins: ‘The worm,’ 2021 // Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi, Berlin.
SAVVY Contemporary
Group Show: ‘MAGICAL HACKERISM. OR THE ELASTICITY OF RESILIENCE’
Opening Reception: Wednesday, Sept. 14; 7pm
Exhibition: Sept. 15–Nov. 4, 2022
savvy-contemporary.com
Reinickendorfer Str. 17, 13347 Berlin, click here for map
Neighbours SAVVY Contemporary and panke.gallery come together to examine various forms of technologies from a Tropikós perspective, meaning the point where things turn. In this context Tropikós is understood as both a region, the tropics, and a mindset tied to “magical hackerism.” The technologies explored are employed to diversify and redistribute networks of technologies and cultural imaginaries towards pluriversal understandings of the planet that aim to establish dialogues between a multiplicity of worlds and cosmologies that exist by themselves and not in opposition to another. The programme includes a number of accompanying events including the ‘Späti Film Circuit,’ a series of films screened at a selection of Spätis in Berlin.
Gabriella Torres-Ferrer:’Untitled (What a Crypton),’ 2022
Uferhallen
Group Show: ‘On Equal Terms’
Opening Reception: Wednesday, Sept. 14; 6–10pm
Exhibition: Sept. 14–25, 2022
uferhallen-ev.de
Vorplatz, Uferstraße 8, 13357 Berlin click here for map
The iconic cultural center of Uferhallen is opening the group exhibition ‘On Equal Terms.’ In Berlin, many artists and cultural institutions are faced with the rapid gentrification and financialization of spaces in the city. The exhibition examines the resistance and simultaneous complicity of cultural spaces in the valorization process and economic displacement occurring in Berlin. The main question posed by the show is: What is the relationship between cultural and monetary capital? Parallel to ‘On Equal Terms,’ Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.) will present a complete set of Kunstaktien (art shares) – original artworks designed by 132 artists to serve as stocks for securing partial ownership of the Uferhallen complex.
Photo by Stephanie Neumann
Halle am Berghain
Ian Cheng: ‘Life After Bob’
Exhibition: Sept. 9-Nov. 6, 2022
Admission: € 15 (reduced € 10)
lightartspace.org
Am Wriezener Bahnhof 10243, click here for map
Light Art Space (LAS) presents Ian Cheng’s ‘Life After Bob’ in the Halle am Berghain. The exhibition takes the viewer on a journey beginning with an ambient light and sound installation to a 50-minute long animated narrative film, ‘The Chalice Study,’ which constructs a world where AI can merge with human consciousness and play out a multitude of human experiences. The film is made with Unity—a video game engine that allows the animation to be produced in real time rather than being predefined. Often used to simulate the movement of water and smoke, procedural animation can subtly vary the details of the film. This is why Cheng also invites viewers to participate in ‘Worldwatching,’ a version of the film that viewers can pause and explore on their cell phones. Additionally, the artist will produce an NFT titled ‘TRUE NAME,’ which will generate personalized prompts to guide visitors through the exhibition. Each unique NFT is powered by Tezos and can be obtained for free via QR code in the exhibition’s store.
Ian Cheng: ‘Life After Bob,’ 2022, Video still // Courtesy of the artist and LAS (Light Art Space), Photo by Andrea Rossetti
Misk Art Institute & Berlin Art Institute
Group Show: ‘Next Wave’
Opening Reception: Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022; 6-9pm
Exhibtion: Sept. 14-Oct. 14, 2022
berlinartinstitute.com
Gallery of the Neue Schule für Fotografie, Brunnenstraße 188-190, 10119 Berlin, click here for map
The Misk Art Institute from Riyadh and the Berlin Art Institute will present works by nine emerging Saudi artists. The exhibition showcases the first ever collaboration between the Berlin and Riyadh institutes launched in 2021. The ‘Next Wave’ artists address topics such as the environment, technology, determinism and sense of belonging. ‘Next Wave’ refers to the avant-garde and the unknown, where the works of the Saudi artists are the center of the show accompanied by complementary research and documentation.
Ziad Kaki: ‘Study of Sound 1,’ 2021 // Courtesy of the Artist
Office Impart
Anna Ehrenstein: ‘The Balkanization of the Cloud’
Opening Reception: Thursday, Sept. 15; 6–9pm
Exhibition: Sept. 16-Oct. 22, 2022
officeimpart.com
Waldenserstraße 2-4, 10551 Berlin, click here for map
Anna Ehrenstein is German-Albanian media artist who deals with highly politicized topics. Ehrenstein is concerned with the hijacking of the media by hegemonic and political powers, and highlights how in many cases we are unaware of the extent to the which we consume political propaganda through media. Through the use of video and hypnotic virtual reality sessions, she uses humor and irony to prompt a reflection and investigation into the Balkans as a disruption of the EU-Europe idea and utopian fantasies of Big Data.
Anna Ehrenstein with Lux Venerea and Jonathan Omer Mizrahi: ‘The Nationstate as Instagram Influencer’ (2022), Video Still
