COLOGNE: EVERY SO OFTEN AT DREI. RAUM FÜR GEGENWARTSKUNST

MARKUS SAILE & ANNA SKROLLAN VIRNICH EXHIBITING IN COLOGNE

On the last open day before their christmas holidays, I coincidentally passed the central two floor gallery 'DREI. RAUM FÜR GEGENWARTSKUNST' (Three - Room for Contemporary Art) and discovered two very interesting, young german artists: Markus Saile (*1981, Stuttgart) and Anna Skrollan Virnich (*1984, Berlin), who both studied (and still study) at the Art Academy in Braunschweig, present a well communicating number of their artworks. Virnich uses the medium of photography, textiles and glass, whereas Saile focusses on a very classical understanding of small paintings.

MIKE KELLEY: SUBLIME PLAY & SUBLIME HORROR

LONDON: EVOLUTION AND RESPONSE - PICTURES FROM THE OPENING RECEPTION

all photos courtesy the artists

On Friday, the 10th of December I visited the opening reception of 'Evolution and Response' at the HUB by Fergus Channon and Richard Dickinson. As I mentioned before, the two have spend a year in Wales in order to create copper sculptures. Inspired by Wales' lonely and melancholic atmosphere - the nature, the ocean and (obviously) the birds - they made a couple of amazing figures. The sculptures were accompanied by a series of (ok - a bit corny but beautiful) landscape photographs. Have a look for yourself!

COLOGNE: YOUNG DESIGNER SHOPPING + SHORT MOVIES + PARTY

SUPER MARKT this weekend (18th+19th of December) in Ehrenfeld

 

Here is an inspiration for your weekend's leisure-time: Saturday and Sunday the 'Super-Weihnachts-Markt' (Super Christmas Market) serves the following treats: Clothes, product design, music, mulled wine, short movies from KHM's (Art Academy for Media) art students and an after-show party at 'Wohn-Bar' on Saturday night. Doesn't that sound like a good weekend plan? The girls organizing this event are coincidentally called Anna & Lena. It must be a sign - I gotta go.

ANSELM KIEFER: TALKING AT TATE IN 2005

Many of you might have seen this already, but I figured that the interview is so entertaining and informative - its worth mentioning again. 

COLOGNE: THOMAS ERDELMEIER EXPLORES FRIENDSHIP

Politics of friendship and other big questions.

Detail:'Die Politik der Freundschaft' ('Politics of friendship') Courtesy Galerie Thomas Rehbein

'Die Politik der Freundschaft' ('Politics of friendship') Courtesy Galerie Thomas Rehbein

Thomas Erdelmeier (*1969, Kirdorf), who exhibits the first time at the established Galerie Thomas Rehbein, really has a good sense of humor: Entitling an exhibition in 2000 'The Art or the Kartoffelquestion' (Kartoffel means potato in German) he truly proved a contemporary sarcasm. Yet, the artworks shown at Rehbein are rather a mixture of elaborate thoughts and humorous figures. In fact, all the pictures deal with opposites: Manga and Philosophy, complexity and comics, friend and enemy, fun and horror, Derrida and McDonalds.

BERLIN: WANNA BUY SOME ART AT CIRCLECULTURE GALLERY?

The street art / urban fine art gallery offers a number of small works between 95 - 1.800 Euro.

I was pretty surprised when CircleCulture's newsletter reached me today and I looked at their new marketing strategy including an Online-Shop. Well, someone's gotta sell, right? And low-cost-art seems to be a new trend anyway, if you consider the 'Affordable Art Fair' in London, for instance. We might feel like bitching about such methods, but on the other hand this seems to be a better option than closing down another high quality Berlin gallery - plus, it feels more honest in a way. Some of CircleCurlture's artist already reached some fame outside Berlin's borders and I'm personally intrigued by Charlie Isoe's and Helle Mardahl's artworks. Have a look for yourself and enjoy affordable art ;)

BERLIN: MIKLOS GAAL CELEBRATES ABSENT-MINDEDNESS

Galerie Wagner and Partner shows 'Selbstvergessenheit' (Absent-Mindedness)

Hillside

The finnish artist Miklos Gaál (*1974), who recently had several exhibitions in Germany, Finland, Holland and France, shows his newest work at Galerie Wagner&Partner in Berlin. Beautiful, yet melancholic, Gaál tries to observe different places without donning a reflective and subjective character onto the scenery. In a state of absent-mindedness, he catches everyday life scenes from above, giving them a sort of surreal/dream-like attitude.

COLOGNE: LUCY MCKENZIE SHOWS 'SLENDER MEANS'

'Slender Means' at Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne 

The scottish artist Lucy McKenzie (*1977) will present her solo show 'Slender Means' up from this Friday at Galerie Daniel Buchholz in Cologne. The exhibition's title, as well as its content, directly refer to the book 'The Girls of Slender Means,' which was written by Muriel Sparks in 1963. The novella  deals with the life of young, unmated women at May of Teck club - a traditional Kensington town house turned into a home for single women. McKenzie translated the change of purpose within an architecture into the galleries spaces. She created 4 paintings - exactly fitting the gallery's first room - in order to entirely change the spaces tension.

LONDON: JASON RHOADES' 'PERFECT WORLD' AT HAUSER & WIRTH

'1:12 Perfect World' until the 18th of December 2010

Since Jason Rhoades (*1965) death in August 2006 (as if this story didn't repeat itself often enough) he suddenly rose to be a star of the international art world. His works were shown in several museum- and gallery exhibitions - Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin even titled a large group show in dedication to him. And now gallery Hauser & Wirth, as they state, 'is proud to announce the gallery’s first posthumous show of Jason Rhoades’ work and the artist’s first European solo exhibition since his death.'

BERLIN: WORLD IS WORK AT GALERIE KWADRAT

Galerie KWADRAT shows 'World is Work' with Octavi Comeron, PSJM, Santiago Sierra and Ignacio Uriante

I am in a bit of rush, so I won't have time to write much about the show. However, I can recommend visiting Galerie Kwadrat, since they usually exhibit quite a well picked choice of artists. The exhibition's opening takes place tonight, the 4th of December from 5-11pm at Galerie Kwadrat.


World is Work
4th December 2010 - 22nd January 2011


Galerie KWADRAT
Adalbertstr. 20
10997 Berlin
Open from Friday to Sunday 2 - 7pm