by Nadia Egan // May 5, 2026
As sure as the seasons change, Gallery Weekend is here again. The day begins by emerging out of a May 1st-induced hangover, slapping on the SPF 50 and heading out the door, Red Bull in hand. It’s 1PM, the U7 is doing me dirty and I’m already behind schedule. The annual ritual of making ambitious plans to visit no less than 20 galleries in one day is quickly abandoned, as I begin refining my selection based purely on the vibes of a given moment.
First to make the cut is Ebensperger, where current performance art sensation Göksu Kunak is giving an afternoon performance of ‘THE VOID.’ With Instagram Stories showing me that half of the art world was already there the night before, I thought I was onto something by coming on the less popular day. How wrong could I be! Despite having felt somewhat smug about my choice and making it to the performance ahead of schedule, I’m met at the door with the information that the space is already full. I try my luck anyway, hoping to sneak through. It should have come as no surprise that I’m not the only one trying this, and the bulging crowd at the door proves too dense. I retreat with my tail between my legs and observe once again from the sidelines of my Instagram Stories.
Jens Einhorn: ‘WENDEKIND,’ 2025, oil, ink, oil stick, fabrics, collage on canvas, 50 × 60 cm // Courtesy of the artist
Feeling a little disparaged, I pick up a friend and continue en route to Paint Shop. Going off menu for a Sellerie Weekend special, we visit Jens Einhorn’s ‘Reise ohne Ende,’ a show of brightly colored paintings marked by the artist’s time growing up in the former GDR. The works—a process combining painting and collage, layering oil, acrylic, spray paint and ink with materials such as fabric, mesh, stones and tar paper—have a naïve quality, lended to them by their bright colors and the two dimensional, lopsided, out of proportion scale of the people and objects depicted. One particular work that catches my eye is ‘Wendekind’ (2025), a predominantly blue and black canvas with a skinny, bobble-headed punk, a baseball bat and prefab buildings, among other abstract shapes that resemble flames. The work references the “Baseballschlägerjahre” (the Baseball Bat Years) of the early 1990s, which were marked by widespread right-wing extremist violence, racism and hooliganism, particularly prevalent in eastern Germany and often involving baseball bats. Given the dark context of this work, the style seems to change its meaning and become one of bitter irony.
Stella Zhong, installation view at Trautwein Herleth, Berlin, 2026 // Courtesy of the artist and Trautwein Herleth, Berlin, photo by Jens Ziehe
Heading up Kottbusser Damm and fighting off the urge to stop at Ankerklause for an obligatory warm weather Apérol Spritz, we push on towards Trautwein Herleth. Not knowing much about the show before entering, I can say that I still don’t know much more about it now. While Stella Zhong’s minimalist sculptures are aesthetically pleasing, I struggle to wrap my head around what exactly is meant in the accompanying press release, by the statement that “forensically, [her] enveloping volumes are infiltrated by endearing objects – but following them can lead one into ontologically frightening territory” … What? Maybe it’s the hangover, maybe it’s nonsensical art speak, either way, I don’t get it. Her largest work, ‘Accumulate into a New Star’ (2026), left me feeling something, but the jury’s still out on whether that’s down to a true emotional response, or whether I was just wowed by its enormous size (252 x 600 x 400 cm, to be precise).
Brook Hsu: ‘The Barcelona Pavilion (Including work by Georg Kolbe),’ 2026, installation view at Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler, Berlin // Courtesy the artist and Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler, photo by Julian Blum
We head around the corner to Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler. Here, Brook Hsu presents a new suite of paintings, drawings and photographs around the story of a building—The Barcelona Pavilion—that was conceived to be destroyed, and a woman living through the loss of a child. It doesn’t strike me until afterwards how utterly bleak the comparison is. The paintings are done exclusively in blue and green, washed out in a way that feels empty and devoid of warmth.
We move towards the galleries in the upper half of Kreuzberg, which aren’t usually on my radar, but Barbara Thumm’s Berlin debut of Gülbin Ünlü convinces me to head over. Ünlü’s ‘Almost ÜNLÜ’ is about the ghosts of Berlin; not only the shadows of the Cold War, Post-War and Post-Truth, but also the “aliens and alienations” of a city where icons like Füruzan, Klaus Nomi, David Bowie and Grace Jones once walked. Did I glean that from the works themselves? Not really. But the sci-fi, glitchy prints—namely ‘Karanlik işik’ (fragmented RMX 2026) (2024)—sent me to ontologically frightening territory in ways Zhong only wishes she could.
Gülbin Ünlü: ‘Almost Ünlü,’ 2026, installation view at Galerie Barbara Thumm // Photo by Jens Ziehe
After agreeing that art (and general) fatigue is setting in and that the shows we saw warrant a second visit some other time, we briefly hop across the border into Mitte for Wolfgang Tillmans and Juan Pablo Echevarri’s record release at Klemm’s. The evening ends with champagne-Monster energy mixers, meeting a freakishly long Furbie named Maxwell and catching pole dancer and DJ FRZNTE perform a routine in the middle of Leipziger Straße: just business as usual for Gallery Weekend.
Exhibition Info
Ebensperger
Göksu Kunak: ‘REMAINS’
Exhibition: May 2–June 28, 2026
ebensperger.net
Fichtestraße 6, 10967 Berlin, click here for map
Paint Shop
Jens Einhorn: ‘Reise ohne Ende’
Exhibition: May 1-30, 2026
paintshop.berlin
Hasenheide 12, 10967 Berlin, click here for map
Trautwein Herleth
Stella Zhong
Exhibition: May 2-June 13, 2026
trautweinherleth.de
Regina-Jonas-Str. 41/43, 10999 Berlin, click here for map
Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler
Brook Hsu: ‘The Barcelona Pavilion (Including work by Georg Kolbe)’
Exhibition: Apr. 30-June 27, 2026
k-t-z.com
Regina-Jonas-Str. 41/43, 10999 Berlin, click here for map
Galerie Barbara Thumm
Gülbin Ünlü: ‘Almost Ünlü’
Exhibition: May 1-June 27, 2026
bthumm.de
Markgrafenstraße 68, 10969 Berlin, click here for map
