by Eva Szwarc // May 5, 2026
Gallery Weekend arrives, fleeting as the falling cherry blossom that nestles into the cracks of the pavements in Mitte. Lit up in the sunshine, the galleries along Linienstraße bustle with eager visitors. As I head along the street to Eigen + Art, I pass a group discussing an acquaintance who “looks for investment everywhere, whether it’s art or property or crypto.” Outside the gallery, two teenagers share a cigarette and discuss how “real” the works inside feel. The occasion draws, as ever, an eclectic crowd.
Brett Charles Seiler: ‘occasional lovers,’ 2026, installation view at Galerie EIGEN + ART Berlin // Photo by Seunghoon Baek
I understand the teenagers’ sentiment quickly upon stepping into ‘occasional lovers,’ an exhibition of paintings and installation work by Brett Charles Seiler. Large-scale paintings of figures in his studio are shown alongside smaller paintings with poetic fragments that read at times like a Tumblr post: “the closest thing I will get to consumerism is eating you out.” Even the storage cupboard of Eigen + Art is incorporated, where a text painting hangs against the backdrop of long-handled brushes and shelved tools. It reads “for the last man left in the darkroom”—a dedication that touches upon community, aloneness and intimacy, a combination that hovers across Seiler’s work like a specter.
Brett Charles Seiler: ‘occasional lovers,’ 2026, installation view at Galerie EIGEN + ART Berlin // Photo by Seunghoon Baek
Some figures within the paintings are muses or friends, mentioned by name in the caption, fleshed out in soft, bruised tones. Others are chalked faint outlines or a reflection in an object; they exist as visual traces of ephemeral relationships. There is re-referencing between and within the works; a suitcase appears both in a painting and as a physical object in the gallery. Half-smoked cigarettes punctuate the space; their brown and black markings on the crisp white of the gallery wall circle back to the muted palette of the paintings. In ‘Adam as an existential shopper’ (2026), details of the figure repeat as small studies tacked on the studio wall behind him. As the viewer, it feels we are being ushered into the process of what is remembered and recorded. One painting is propped to one side as though left in the studio and another is dotted with backwards messages. We are drawn in, made to feel like a confidant.
Huang Rui:’《89》INK-STAINED BOOKS,’ 2026, installation view at Nagel Draxler Kabinett // Photo by Simon Vogel
It is a short cycle onwards to Rosa-Luxembourg-Platz and the hive of galleries located there, including Nagel Draxler Kabinett, which exhibits ‘《89》Ink-stained books’ by Chinese artist Huang Rui. In the center of the space, two piles of ink-covered books are arranged to form the numerals 8 and 9, which reference the year 1989 and the historical memories this year contains for both Beijing and Berlin. In ‘Works of Karl Marx, 6 volumes’ (2025), several editions are bound with rope and covered with ink, which Rui refers to as “solidified black blood.” A smooth, single stone bound in rope is placed on top. It possesses a duality, both a guardian and an obstacle to the books. Afterwards, I read that this is a “kekkai” stone, traditionally used to mark a sacred boundary and to protect against malevolent energies. Under the stone’s weight and its own ancient timeline, the books are safeguarded like a forbidden wound, as though waiting to be one day unbound.
Björn Heyn: ‘Ätschi Bästch,’ 2026, installation view at Gegen & Lücke // Photo by Jannis Uffrecht
Two doors down Gegen & Lücke presents ‘Ätschi Bätsch,’ an exuberant arrangement of work by Björn Heyn. There are paintings, a mosaic and a painted shutter, which divides a narrow section of the gallery space. The artist, dressed in colors that match his artwork, periodically pulls up the shutter noisily for visitors. The interaction feels fitting to the warmth and playfulness of his work. The paintings combine elements of still life with childlike drawings; Heyn informs me he wields unlikely tools, attaching a brush or pen to a golf club or a chunky block of wood, to create these rudimentary forms. The works are layered and collaged, with scraps from old canvases cut and stuck back on as abstract shapes or flower petals. There is little sense of hierarchy; everything may be up for grabs, but it is all very thoughtfully considered.
Monty Richthofen: ‘HARD 2 4GET,’ 2026 // Copyright Monty Richthofen, courtesy DITTRICH & SCHLECHTRIEM, Berlin
My final stop is at Dittrich + Schlechtriem, which for Gallery Weekend is marking its first presentation from its new location, or “showroom,” as I’m carefully informed by a team member. I’ve encountered the work before even stepping inside. ‘HARD 2 4GET’ is more of an intervention than an exhibition; a fleet of 15 vans are driven round and parked in various locations around the city. Each van is spray-painted by artist Monty Richthofen with short texts, which are wiped away and distorted through performances scheduled throughout the weekend. The work emerges from research into the inscriptions marked by soldiers on their military equipment and aircrafts; the context is interesting, although I experience the work more as a natural progression of the artist’s text-based experimentation than any tangible critique or commentary on war. The showroom contains one work by Richthofen. In ‘American Beauty’ (2025), text is ballooned up across two light-boxes like illuminated bacteria. It is a static accompaniment to the performances, in which the text is repeatedly obscured. The work is a fitting reminder of the energy of Gallery Weekend when it spills beyond the gallery walls—a reminder that art can be experienced across the city just as effectively by chance as with intention.
Exhibition Info
Eigen + Art
Brett Charles Seiler: ‘occasional lovers’
Exhibition: May 1-June 20, 2026
eigen-art.com
Auguststraße 26, 10117 Berlin, click here for map
Nagel Draxler Kabinett
Huang Rui: ‘《89》 Ink-stained books’
Exhibition: May 2-June 27, 2026
nagel-draxler.de
Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 33, 10178 Berlin, click here for map
Galerie Gegen & Lücke
Björn Heyn: ‘Ätschi Bätsch’
Exhibition: Apr. 30-June 6, 2026
culterim.de/gegenundluecke
Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 35, 10178 Berlin, click here for map
Dittrich & Schlechtriem
Monty Richthofen: ‘HARD 2 4GET’
Exhibition: May 1-3, 2026
dittrich-schlechtriem.com
Linienstraße 40, 10119 Berlin, click here for map
