BERLIN: KATRIN FRIDRIKS LEAK OF INFORMATION AT CIRCLECULTURE

Tonight, at Circleculture Gallery, Iceland-born painter Katrin Fridriks shows her newest works dealing with a 'Leak of information'. The exhibition asks questions about lacks or the inflationary use of communication - what is hidden? What is on display? She employs bright colours as well as metallic, technology based inspirations to broach issues of public awareness and modern (mediated) communication technology. Circleculture has been famous for turning street art into a gallery event and they have had a lot of success and positive feedbacks doing so. The opening takes place tonight up from 7pm. More information and a video below.

BERLIN: GALLERY WEEKEND PICK

Olaf Nicolai Samani

Albert Oehlen Stars

Miriam Böhm Set 1

It was definitely not an easy task to pick my favorites from 44 openings, however, I chose a couple of galleries and artists that should promise exciting shows. Installation artist Olaf Nicolai, represented by EIGEN+ART, has two exhibitions. Albert- and his brother Markus Oehlen, both show new paintings in two different galleries. Arraita, Beer Gallery invited popular artists to design tattoos, which will be tattooed onto visitors and passengers if they wish (you can already make appointments). Installation artist and sculptor John Bock presents his new work at Klosterfelde and Miriam Böhm shows interesting new work at Gallery Wentrup. 

Even though I didn't list Ai Weiwei's, or Chuck Close's shows - they are of course must-sees as well. A new art-center seems to emerge around Potsdamer Strasse, as well as the established locations around Kochstrasse and Lindenstrasse invite for countless openings. Finally, the location around Tucholskystrasse and Auguststrasse is always worth a visit - not only because of its art-offers, but also because of the charming bars and restaurants surrounding the galleries. If you are not invited to one of the dinner parties at Grill Royal or Borchardts, I can only recommend going to some bars nearby and getting drunk with the art crowd. ;)

Click on 'Read more', the headline or on one of the images to get to the list.

BERLIN: GALLERY WEEKEND - HELPFUL LINKS

Before starting to pick a couple of favorites, I wanted to give you some of the great links that will help you getting an overview. Firstly, the two main pages for any calendar overview are indexberlin and kunst-magazin. Additionally, BerlinArtLink has a nice page with interviews, weekly calendar picks and prehaps some reviews. Two really well written insider advices as well as party reminders are private curators and iheartberlin. They have a good overview and lots of background information.
Last but not least, it makes sense to have a look at gallery weekends website. The map and program should help you to organize your openings, so that you can group a couple of visits at one location. There is an iphone app called 'The eye Out,' which you can download for free here. This kinky tool similarly helps you find your way through the countless number of events. After the weekend artnet will provide a selection of reviews, photos and impression.

BERLIN: WORTH SEEING EVENTS OUTSIDE GALLERY WEEKEND

Up from Friday the 29th of April until the 1st of May Berlin is one big art bubble. Gallery Weekend, founded by ex-gallery owner Michael Neff, invites Berlin based galleries for the 7th time to participate this paradise for collectors and art lovers. Well, inviting is maybe not the right word. The 44 participating galleries pay 1000 Euros in order to be a part of the official program. However, obviously there are a couple of venues, which take advantage of the timing and similarly hold openings on Friday and Saturday. I listed four of these events below - including the hyped venue launch of Blain Southern with Tim Noble and Sue Webster; an early opening (on the 27th) at private collection Haubrok with Georg Herold, Lone Haugaard Madsen, Franz West and Heimo Zobering; an opening at Peres Project (Kreuzberg location) showing paintings of Pete Wheeler, and finally a barbeque at Autocenter art (for all of these who are not invited to fancy dinner parties). I will shortly post a list with some tour guidances for the gallery weekend.

LONDON: PAUL GRAHAM RETROSPECTIVE AT WHITECHAPEL

Paul Graham's (* 1956, England) photography is sensitive. He observes. Takes pictures of what seems to be normal. Societies, urban life, waiting rooms. But once framed and exposed, the images and scenes are reminiscent of theatre sets. It almost seems staged yet it contains some kind of secrecy, as Graham states: ‘I realised that concealment… has run through… my work, from the landscape of Northern Ireland, and the unemployed tucked away in backstreet offices, to the burdens of history swept under the carpet in Europe or Japan. Concealment of our turmoil from others, from ourselves even’. Since the early 80s, Journeys and road trips throughout the world have provided him with documentary material: "Photographic series such as the A1, Troubled Land, New Europe or American Night British artist Paul Graham presents vivid portrayals of people and places. This comprehensive survey of over 25 years of work demonstrates his innovative approach to documentary, reinventing traditional genres of photography to create a unique visual language."

Whitechapel Gallery in London now exhibits this beautiful and thoughtful work, in fact 100 photographs are exposed.

LONDON: BRICK LANE IN THE 1920s

Selling puppies in the nineteen twenties at Club Row market in London (Today Brick Lane market)

From Brick Lane, looking West down Sclater St.

Related Link: Spitalfields Life

NEVER FORGET: THE KILLING MACHINE

Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, "The Killing machine," Installation (2007)  

www.cardiffmiller.com

LONDON: "THE GLOBE SHRINKS" - BARBARA KRUGER OPENING AT SPRÜTH/MAGERS

 

Tomorrow from 6-8pm Gallery Sprüth Magers hosts an opening for the upcoming solo-exhibition by Barbara Kruger called "The Globe Shrinks." Kruger's (*1945, USA) work changed quite a lot in 90s, when she expanded photography and text into video (-installations) and sound installations. Her work critically observes consumerism behaviour and psychological manipulation - she got quite popular with her dynamic combination of image and text. The work that will be represented up from tomorrow shows itself in a different shape, yet it still problematizes the kindness and brutality of the everyday life. I know, this sounds all a bit old fashioned and the press release doesn't make it better, but I am really fond of that work at the top of this post and her multi channel video installation "The Globe Shrinks" (2010) similarly promises to be an interesting piece. This show - just that you don't stand in front of closed doors - does NOT take place at Sprüth Magers main address at Grafton Street, but in a place at Francis Street (walking distance from Victoria station). Find detailed information and a map below.

BERLIN: COUTURE EGGS AT ACHTEINHALB WOCHEN STORE

Are you bored of the traditional easter holiday? My friends from iheartberlin and achteinhalb organize a fantastic opening this thursday, the 21st of April at the beautiful achteinhalb wochen concept store. The whole idea is that 11 avant-garde fashion designers create each one egg - Couture Eggs, as they call them - that will be unique and somewhat related to the fashion designs. These will be exhibited on Thursday eve. The designers are Anna Wegelin, Burkhardt/Möllmann, C.Neeon, Esther Perbandt, JULIAANDBEN, Parsival Cserer, Paula Immich, Phoebe Heess,Proportion, Reality Studio and Von Bardonitz. Up from today until Friday the 22nd of April the eggs will be auctioned off on the iheartberlin blog. During the vernissage on Thursday you will also be able to enter your bids. And now comes the best part of it: All the income will be donated to children's charity and Japan disaster relief organizations. All further informations below.

BERLIN: ECKHART HAHN LOVES COLOURS AND BIN LINERS

I am not really sure what to think about this exhibit:. Eckart Hahn (* 1971, Freiburg) created several colourful, large-scale, bright and extremely figurative paintings for his current solo-show 'Mythos incorporated' at Galerie Wagner und Partner in Berlin Friedrichshain. The established gallery usually has a very trustworthy program, as well as their location with the massive windows invites to feel comfortable in the space. In order to give you an impression, I picked my three favourites above and some others below in this post. And exactly that seems to be the thing about Hahn: The bin liners in renaissance sets - fine. Little details, such as the splash of white colour, or other manipulated 'mistakes.' The man with the blue face eating his distorted self - ok, we have been there, but it's a good image. But I seriously had to cringe, when looking at the bogle-painting, the Leda image or the card house (all below). One has to grant him for his courage, as in times like these a surrealist painter, who chooses not to paint all too sellable, won't have it too easy. Anyway, who am I to judge when I haven't even seen the images live? ( London STILL keeps me very busy) If you are interested in seeing them, visit the artist's talk next Tuesday, where Hahn will be interviewed by Dr. Marc Wellmann. 

NEVER FORGET: THE AMBASSADORS

Hans Holbein (the younger), 'The Ambassadors,' 1533, at the National Gallery in London

LONDON: MODEL VS REALITY AT FOLD GALLERY

Tomorrow, Thursday the 14th of April from 6-9 there will be another private view for a group show in the east of London: Fold Gallery shows 6 artists fighting for MODEL VS REALITY. Conceptually, the artists works are supposed to reach their material limit, maybe fail, maybe interact, or transform into something else. From a model into a reality. Recontextualization. Reality, as the gallery states, is supposed "to inflect and absorb into the work."I must admit that what made me write about the opening tomorrow is that fact that I am very fond of that black/white photograph "Hanging Phallus" by Linda Aloyisus of the broken concrete pile. Not that I am a feminist, but I guess you see what I am getting at. I am actually not sure if the artpiece "Lethal Weapon"with that yellow...stuff (?) is actually part of the exhibit, but the artist Ana Prada definitely is. The gallery is a really nice space - right next to London Fields in Hackney - and a good starting point for either more art, or drinks on Columbia Road, or both. More photos, a map and all informations after the jump:

COLOGNE: ART COLOGNE STARTS TODAY

For the 45. time, Art Cologne opens its doors for galleries, visitors and artlovers- and collectors. Daniel Hug invited 190 galleries for 2011 - established ones, emerging ones, new contemporaries - all representing art from the 20th and 21th century. Apart from the big fair on the 'Schälsick' (a cologne-slang expression for the 'wrong' side of the river Rhine, where art cologne takes place) there are lots of things to do:
Museum Ludwig, for instance, opens a retrospective show with works of american painter Vija Celmins called "Wüste, Meer und Sterne" (Desert, Sea and Stars) on Friday eve. Most cologne-based galleries as well open their gates for private views and parties, especially on Wednesday the 13th in the evening with late (around 10pm) closure times. Monopol Magazine invites for talks and symposiums. If you can read german, get an overview following the Kunstmagazin-Blog, or looking at the Köln Galerien Website for openings and exhibitions, look at artinfo24 for images, or Art Cologne directly (they are also writing in english language). Puh! Lots of links - lot's of things to see! Don't miss it, if you are nearby!

LONDON: RIP IT UP, MASH IT UP, STICK IT UP! - CONTEMPORARY COLLAGE

In Dadaist tradition, this group exhibition will show works of paper collage - assemblages - by Glenn Ibbitson, Nicholas Wright, Deoborah FIsher, Gillian McIver, Lorena Balbinot, Nazir Tanbouli. Poetic and political, each artist explores the medium quite different. The artist run space will also show several short movies on this Friday up from 7.30pm in their space. (see the flyer below) I have never been to the space, so I am quite curious if the show is good. The opening takes place this Thursday from 7-9pm. All further information, more images and a map below.

WATCHLIST: DANIEL RAPLEY

Have you ever thought about reliving history and rewriting a whole bible as they did in the old days when printing and copying was a hard-to-grasp fantasy? Well, I know someone who actually makes a living out of it: With his project "Authorized" Daniel Rapley (*1979), a british artist who currently finishes his MA in Fine Arts at Chelsea College (UAL) in London, literally writes down the King James Version of the Bible by hand. So far he completed nearly 500,000 neatly written words of the Genesis on handwritten A4 sheets of ruled paper. The interesting aspect is not only that his handcraft becomes persistence and somehow questions the whole thing in itself, but also that once the project is displayed no one will be able to feel, or retrace what patience and neatness he had to keep up with. 
See also: danielrapley.co.uk

A BIT(E) OF FASHION, PLEASE

Today Stephanie from the lovely, danish fashion blog Anwho posted these pictures. They show model Liu Wen photographed by Greg Kadel for the German Vogue (November 2010) and I liked them so much, that I felt like sharing them with you. And, to put it in Stephanie's words: "I love when fashion turns into art."

COLOGNE: BENJAMIN TILLIG, TIMOTHY SHEARER AND MORE ARTISTS EXHIBIT AT BOUTIQUE / BAR UNTIL 17.04

From today until the 17th of April the 'Boutique / Bar' at Ebertplatz invites every evening up from 6pm for art, music and drinks. The two cologne-based artists Benjamin Tillig und Timothy Shearer, as well as other artists, curators and DJs will present different works throughout the period - always in relation to the rather ugly Ebertplatz and its connotation with the rapidly build 60s-80s post-war Cologne architecture. Boutique also suggests itself as a spatiality for young, emerging art, as well as for its scene, its communication and as a place that allows a relaxed encounter - a living-room, so to speak. Boutique will also offer a wide range of danceable musical treats, so that the living-room can be turned into a club. All in all, it sounds like a really nice and ambitious project, which is by the way organized and initiated by DREI. RAUM FÜR KUNST - a gallery that has an increasing influence on shaping Cologne's art scene. All information below.

LONDON: EVERYTHING YOU EVER LIKED ABOUT YOUR MOTHER

This Thursday, on the 7th of April up from 7pm there will be an opening by a group of mainly German young artists at the art space '15 Howie Street'. One of the exhibiting artists is painter David Ostrowski, who gave me an interview last December. I don't know exactly what to expect, but if you don't have any plans yet pop by and find out what they ever liked about their mothers.

COLOGNE: GO SEE JOHANNES WOHNSEIFER'S OPENING AT SIMULTANHALLE

Johannes Wohnseifer (*1967, Cologne) is a pop-artist - someone who never stopped doing what most artist gave up around the 80s and 90s - he criticizes our society with a surface of imitation, with a withdrawal of his own person and opinion, and with a humorous observation. As a close friend and assistant of Germany's favorite rebel-artist Martin Kippenberger (1953-1997), Wohnsiefert established his own career quite well in the art market. Represented by concept-art Galerie Johann König in Berlin, his art is travelling around the world - from one fair to the next - and now he opens the new season at Simulthalle outside Cologne (Chorweiler) with an exhibition that promises to be site specific and similarly the big opening for their 25-year anniversary. This exhibition is also worth a trip to see the architecture of that amazing building - and - because it is one of the very few non-commercial art spaces that is still sponsored by the state. See below a map, information and more images.

A LITTLE PAUL MCCARTHY TREAT FOR MONDAY EVE!

Those of you who know me well are already aware that I have a thing for Paul McCarthy and his uncanny and visceral art. Yes - I admit it! The video by Vernissage.tv shows some images from his most recent show in L.A. "Three Sculptures."  

LONDON: IDA APPLEBROOG HAS A THING FOR THE UNCANNY

American artist Ida Appelbroog (*1929) shows a quite convincing retrospective covering 4 series of works from the last 50 years at Hauser&Wirth in London. As you will see in the exhibition views below, it's not only the paintings fragmentation on several different-sized canvases that makes this show unique, but also the curation: Lying on the floor, standing in the middle of the gallery's main space, each painting seems to have dialogue with one another. The gallery's press release highlights the audience's part and claims that Applebroog's fragmented paintings "effectively question the viewer’s active involvement in her works."  When passing "Marginalia" (the painting-installation) and entering the back room, one stands face-to-face with 'Monalisa' - a wooden installation piece, covered with 'Vagina drawings,' hiding the 'Monalisa'-doll-drawing. It's like a giant version of Duchamp's ‘Étant Donnés,’ a cubic, inaccessible house with wholes that turns the viewer into a voyeur. Her newest piece - 'Caleb' - assembles several versions of the same mutant-like face. All in all, the show's coherence seems to be an uncanny aspect: Something is frightening, weird, a little perverted - some images clearly broach issues of violence, abuse or psychosis  - others seem to be mad - and some are simply sexual. Absolutely worth seeing! (And the Dieter Roth exhibit is just next door) Click on the images or the headline to see all infos, more images and a short documentary on Applebroog.