Arnold Newman, “Pablo Picasso. Painter. Vallauris, France. 1954”
The art week starts, less dingy and more militant than the last one, with capitalism killing love, and it ends with a deathly poets’ battle at Volksbühne. In the meantime, two outstanding photography exhibitions crystallize to be the weekend’s highlights: Candida Höfer presents bombastic still lifes, and C/O Berlin dignifies Arnold Newman‘s portrait shots of the creative elite in a large retrospective. Additionally, Allan Kaprow – the godfather of “happenings” – is reanimated and there is a group show at Künstlerhaus Bethanien that sorts out the black market of translations. Get all the information after the jump…
Wednesday, Feb 29
What does the following sentence make you think of: “The Capitalist doesn’t Want to Know Anything about Things to do with Love” . Ok, what about this one: Capitalism kills Love! Exactly! Marx, possibly Lacan and Freud. In their event series “Performing books”, Salon Populaire (Bülowstr.90, 20h) organised a talk with the authors Sonia Arribas and Howard Rouse, who wrote a book on these notions based on Marxism, psychoanlysis and – yes – capitalism and love.
Another – perhaps less philosophical – reading takes place at me collectors room Berlin (Auguststr. 68, 20h). In the framework of their current Gerhard Richter – Editions exhibition they ask the question “What does Gerhard Richter mean to Berlin writers?” and host the event Autonama Reads Richter. The readers include Florian Werner, Jochen Schmidt and Klaus Cäsar Zehrer, the talk will be hosted by Norbert Kron. Prior registration can be done at info[at]me-berlin.com
Friday, Mar 02
After an admittedly moderate art-week, the weekend is even more so packed with great shows and big names:
Johnen Galerie features Candida Höfer‘s photographical series Neues Museum Berlin (Marienstr. 10, 19-21h, Gallery 1+2). Höfer, who is famous for her bombastic and large-scale still lifes of theaters, libraries and other architectural interiors, documented the Neues Museum just before its reopening. Her series will be juxtaposed to minimalist sculptures by Raimer Jochims.
One of the most exciting events this week is the opening of Arnold Newman’s retrospective Masterclass, which C/O Berlin (Oranienburger Str. 35) dedicates posthumously to the prominent portrait photographer. 200 works give an impression of his spectacular portraits, showing Picasso, Marylin Monroe, Duchamp and many others of the creative elite. The exhibtion also shows less famous pieces, contact sheets, architectural studies and street photography. The private viewing starts at 19h.
Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (Chausseestr. 128/129, 19h) opens a show that reanimates Allan Kaprow‘s performance Time Pieces (originally from 1973). Kaprow, who realized around 250 performances, defined the term “happening” and has a high relevance for contemporary performance artists.
In other words. The black market of translations is the title of a large group show presented at NGBK and Kunstraum Kreuzberg / Bethanien (Oranienstr. 25 and Mariannenplatz 2, 19h), including many (!) artists who work with issues of cultural identity in terms of language, reading and writing. Apart from a few familiar names, such as Adrian Lohmüller and Olaf Nicolai, there will be mostly new discoveries to make.
Galerie Frisch (Invalidenstraße 50 – 51, behind Hamburger Bahnhof), a gallery based on a large collection that primarily consists of contemporary paintings, now presents the newest collage works of the artists Eli Cortiñas und Katharina Jahnke. The exhibition Combine Reality confronts the medium of collage itself and promises very ambitiously to challenges its borders. Just next door, Galerie Jarmuschek & Partner features Jürgen Wolf’s solo-show Mit Pfauenwimpern verfängt sich der Nachtwandler im Wasser. Husch, Husch. Wolf, by the way, used to study catholic theology and now devotes all his artistic creativity on the female body.
Saturday, Mar 03
Galerie Capitain Petzel (Karl-Marx-Allee 45) features the newest work by the greek conceptual artist Christiana Soulou. The opening of I Accept If You Can Tolerate Me Silently is curated by Paolo Colombo and will perhaps start around 19h (there is no official time).
Gerold Miller‘s newest series of sculptures and installations can be seen at Mehdi Chouakri Gallery. The opening of Set takes place from 18-21h at Invalidenstr. 117 (but due to construction works you will have to enter the exhibition via Edisonhöfe, entrance: Schlegelstraße 26)
Wien Lukatsch (Schöneberger Ufer 65), a gallery and bookshop, invites to a lecture of the American sculptor and poet Jimmie Durham, who will read from a selection of his poets. The reading will be held in English, and it starts at 19h.
Sunday, Mar 04
A poetry-fight: The Berliner Volksbühne (Rosa -Luxemburg Platz) hosts the second Tot oder Lebendig #2 Poetry Slam, in which young poets will fight, armed with their own contemporary lyrics, against actors, who will stand up for classical poetry from the 1920s. Dead or Alive? Wach performer has six minutes showtime, the audience decides which team wins. The slam starts at 20h and you will have to buy the tickets there.
Anna-Lena Werner is a graduate art theorist, writer and freelance curator. On her blog artfridge.de, she collects interviews with emerging artists and other creative people, talent discoveries and exhibition reviews from Berlin, Cologne and London. For the next weeks, Anna-Lena will write The Weekly Art Guide on iheartberlin.
“The Capitalist doesn’t Want to Know Anything about Things to do with Love”
Marilyn Monroe, by Arnold Newman at C/O Berlin
Allan Kaprow, Time Pieces, 1973/2012
Candida Höfer “Neues Museum Berlin VIII 2009”, Courtesy Johnen Galerie
PAOLO W. TAMBURELLA “World Languages” at Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien
Jürgen Wolf “untitled (Schuhe) at Jarmuschek & Partner
