By April Dell // Nov. 13, 2015
In the historical mansion-turned-contemporary art gallery at Haus am Waldsee, the visually intriguing and thought provoking solo exhibition by Alicja Kwade, Monologue from the 11th Floor, is soon coming to an end. Outside in the large gallery grounds, autumn debris littering the sculpture garden is a seasonal…[read on]
Article by Marta Jecu – in Berlin; Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015.
Interdisciplinarity is not just about combining methodologies, but also about the capacity to navigate around them, to handle a hybrid-situation that could give birth to a new creative medium. Looking back on the art of the 20th century’s last decades, it becomes evident that, in order to have certain micro-climates or contexts that can generate something new, there has always been a dominant situation of incompatibilities, social or political rifts, and disparities….[read on…]
Article by Miron Ghiu – in Bucharest; Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015.
I will begin this text by saying that my short incursion within the Romanian underground music scene is not, by far, a theorization on what “underground” means. Within this gray area it is impossible, forbidden even, to label things as if they were store products on shelves. Those I will write about are not products, nor do they make “radio music” using patterns and recipes…[read on…]
Interview by Alison Hugill – in Stockholm; Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015.
Last month, the biennial Absolut Art Award was presented to two nominees, one for Art Work and one for Art Writing, at a gala event in Stockholm. In an amusing twist of fate, the award certificates were accidentally printed with the wrong names on the night of the event, unofficially awarding Mark Godfrey the prize for Art Work, and Frances Stark the prize for Art Writing…[read on…]
Article by Göksu Kunak – in Berlin; Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015.
It’s thrilling to hear stories or watch films about divided Berlin, recognizing an extremely different Potsdamer Platz covered in dirt and dust. I recently visited the university I used to work at as a research and teaching assistant in Ankara, Turkey. One of my professors was studying in Berlin back in 1989. In a proud way, he reminisced…[read on…]
Article by Valentina Iancu – in Bucharest; Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015.
The death of painting, which was emphatically announced after 1935 and has been repeatedly acclaimed in modernism, post-modernism, while still debated in some artistic mediums, is becoming an actual problem in the new capitalist cultural geographies of Eastern Europe. Being an instrument of communist propaganda, painting is mistrusted by the avidly reformed artistic community of the 90s…[read on…]
Article by April Dell – in Berlin; Monday, Oct. 26, 2015.
Contemporary painting is often quoted as commercial, unoriginal, and irrelevant. Theorists have been claiming the death of painting since the establishment of Modernism, and shouts of its resuscitation have echoed since the 1980s. Though perhaps not leading the avant garde in recent decades, painting continues to carry weight in the collections of art institutions…[read on…]
Interview by Celia Wickham – in Berlin; Friday, Oct. 23, 2015.
Nafisa Kaptownwala is the multi-talented Toronto based founder of the inclusive modeling agency Lorde Inc, casting only models of colour as a means of fighting against the inherent racism of the fashion industry. Formed out of a frustration with the lack of diversity in fashion…[read on…]
Article by Alena Sokhan – in Berlin; Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015.
Recently we had a chance to speak with Siegfried Zielinski, a celebrated professor at the University of Art (UdK) and the European Graduate School, who authored over a dozen books, and founded a new field of research – media archaeology. Zielinski is…[read on…]
Interview by Nicolas Hausdorf – in Berlin; Friday, Oct. 16, 2015.
If you encounter unknown flying objects in the airspace between Frankfurt/Oder and Belarus these days, distrust your first instincts. Aerial balloons with shiny metallic objects floating into the clouds may be neither timid surveillance attempts by a cash-strapped Russian military, the latest Nato or California-based technology giant project for the conquest of space…[read on…]
Article by Alena Sokhan – in Berlin; Friday, Oct. 09, 2015.
Chto Delat? (What Is To Be Done?) is a collective that was formed in Russia in early 2003, responding to “an urgent need to merge political theory, art, and activism,” as the group explains. On several occasions, the collective has brought to Berlin the intensity of their politics and aesthetics. Last time…[read on…]
Article by April Dell – in Berlin; Wednesday, Oct. 07, 2015.
On the first floor of the beautiful old hospital building, Kunstquartier Bethanian, is the Momentum exhibition space, currently showing video and performance works by chinese artist Zhou Xiaohu. Titled Scheisse and with a flyer channelling bathhouse decor and seedy nightlife neon lights, the exhibition is a surprising mixture of…[read on…]
