This website places cookies on your computer to improve your experience. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. For more details, see our cookie policy.
Berlin was a fascinating visit. I made it for the Gallery Weekend in Berlin, whilst everyone was sauntering around Frieze New York and headed straight to Tanya Leighton.
They were showing ‘Bulls Without Horns’ by Aleksandra Domanović, an exhibition exploring bioengineering where the artist fancied herself as an evolutionary sculpture based on current work in animal genetics.
In the evening we headed out to a dinner hosted by Max Hetzler for Thomas Struth and then on to Thomas’ show at Martin-Gropius-Bau. ‘Nature & Politics’ was wonderful, the hang was pristine and the art works so exact and exciting at the same time. These pictures tell of attempts to extend the limits of photography through nature, the artificial world, technically and politically.
The Isa Genzken show ‘make yourself pretty’ was engrossing and perfectly curated. It brought together a broad spectrum of her work throughout her entire career, born in 1948 she has been working for over 40 years and really is one of the greatest female artists. Her vision is unique, playful and vivid whilst often critical and reflecting the world around her in her own style. Love Isa’s Egyptian touch.
The Feuerle collection is in a freezing cold bunker. Upstairs was part of the Biennale where we had the pleasure of meeting Désiré Feuerle and the evil eye plane windows of Yngve Holen. It was a good start but really just the beginning and before we knew it we were taken into a dark room to listen to a beautiful wisp of music and then through total darkness towards a pale light and into the most divine display of Asian artist’s work I have ever seen. An underground lake viewed through crystal clear windows, so dark and suggestive but there and apparent. An Anish Kapoor, a room where you light incense and breathe in the wonderful aromas of the orient, they were all displayed quietly and lit so thoughtfully. Désiré told us that incense in China can be traded for horrific amounts of money. We then left this abbey of art worship and got ready for DIS.
DIS, composed of Lauren Boyle, Solomon Chase, Marco Roso and David Toro had created an outstanding and unforgettable Biennale, a real footprint of the times that looked into the future rather than the past. KW Institute had so many wonderful surprises with no expense spared for the Cécile B. Evans.
The whole installation was dramatic and spectacular.
We headed from building to building with throat tickling feelings of joy as we got to see all our favourites. Timur Si-Qin had created a garden of delight at Akademie der Künste titled ‘A Reflected Landscape.’ Tiffany and Olivia demonstrated the joy of selfies without the effort.
I was incredibly proud to see Christopher Kulendran Thomas’ installation, ‘New Eelam.’ Reflection upon reflection in a familiar domestic situation introducing a startup to develop a flexible global housing subscription based on collective ownership.
In a stylized concept bar, Lizzie checking out Ryan Trecartin and Lizzie Fitch’s new installation, ‘Mark Trade.’ ‘I only sell my services to people who live in Venus’ ‘no one would die for a salad’ ‘my heart is not comfortable’ ‘all humans to be equal no one should die’ ‘ I had to skip a generation there was too much content’...
We loved the Anne de Vries video, in fact so much so we acquired a work for the collection. It’s a sensory overload, using voiceovers of philosophical texts and electronic dance. His models and films ‘Oblivion’ and ‘Critical Mass: Pure Immanence’ were both looking down on the audience implying there is a larger manipulative force at work.
Of course the highlight was not the Hito Steyerl in the basement even though it was impressive and strong, it was Jon Rafman on the roof. A breathtaking work, as we stood on the terrace by the Brandenburg Gate and put on our VR headsets, there was a huge explosion, black smoke rose and bodies were floating everywhere. It was utterly beautiful and spectacular. At the same time you are surrounded in the real world by sculptures of animals being swallowed and swallowing.
Then it was to the European School of Management...
to see Simon Denny‘s awe inspiring work ‘Blockchain Visionaries’ about how nations and corporations brand themselves. Shown through three real companies he looks at how blockchain is applied as a transaction database technology used for the denationalised currency BitCoin.
He had also designed and created three postage stamps with Linda Kantchev, using the old fashioned stamp as emblems for each company to embody a future in technology.
After this I needed to come down to earth, I headed to my dear friend Javier Peres’ space where he was showing a group exhibition including Athena Papodopolous and Donna Huanca. We posed for a lovely picture.
Donna Huanca’s performance in ‘Wild Style.’ We are so excited for her major show in September at the Zabludowicz Collection.
Human artwork on a pedestal.
The next day led to another fabulous adventure with a wonderful sail on the Blue Star with Captain’s Korakrit Arunanondchai and Alex Gvojic and second-in-command Boy Child taking us down the river and presenting the installation ‘There’s a word I’m trying to remember, for a feeling I’m about to have (a distracted path toward extinction).’
Boy Child, who collaborates with Korakrit, was finding the whole thing quite boring. So we slithered our way onto the lower deck to discover a super rat watching a movie. ‘What comes after the giant rats’ ‘Can the past be alive in the present, is there enough oxygen for that?…’
The best until last - Julia Stoschek’s Collection is a winner. So many amazing installations from Ian Cheng to Neïl Beloufa. No wonder we are digital sisters. I embraced her Jon Rafman, ‘Betamale Trilogy (glass cabin)’ and my girls were just mesmerised and reminiscing about our past Jon Rafman show last year.
Then it was goodbye to Berlin and the weird mermaids tied to the end of the boat and onto Art Basel, another adventure in itself.
