Breaking the Berlin Biennial's Inaugural Balls
This weekend the Berlin Biennial officially begins, sparking one of those rare occasions when the city's art community erupts in a fervent spasm of hyper-activity and shameless courting of visiting collectors. With so many events strategically opening to coincide with the Biennial's commencement, atheist artists across the city are actually praying to God for blue skies, reliable public transport, and bountiful prescription stimulants. As we've noted before, Berlin's cultural sector heavily depends on out-of-town collectors coming to the city to financially support the local scene, and the Berlin Biennial is one of three major art events that promises fiscal payback (the other two are Artforum and the annual gallery weekend). Openings, after-parties, bellini brunches, and exclusive private views will dominate the upcoming weekend, so here's a guide to help filter an otherwise overwhelming social agenda. It should be noted, by the way, that the easiest way to tell if you're in the right place is if Adel and Eva, the couple pictured here, are there too. (photo)
Max Hetzler
Zimmerstraße 90
10117 Mitte, Berlin, Germany
A classic Berlin gallery of international repute, Max Hetzler will open an exhibition with a "private view" on Friday. Entitled Always There, it's the second installment … of a group exhibition that features work by André Butzer, Arturo Herrera, Albert Oehlen, Richard Phillips, Michael Raedecker, Kay Rosen, and Christopher Wool. Hardcore collectors will surely flock to this opening, considering the quality of the artists on view, but everyone else is welcome as well. There will also be other openings in the gallery complex happening simultaneously, including Anton Henning at Arndt and Partner. [link]
Haunch of Vension
Heidestraße
10557 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany
Haunch of Venison, one of Berlin's best spaces, has an artist roster of the highest caliber, including Turner Prize nominee Nathan Coley, whose first exhibition in Berlin … opens on Saturday. Haunch's Berlin satellite operates more as a project space than a traditional gallery and lends itself best to large-scale installations of unsettling proportions. Coley's show, which continues in this vein, includes a movie-set street façade in Old West style, appropriately outfitted with a saloon and bar front. [link]
Curators Without Borders
Brunnenstraße 5
10119 Mitte, Berlin, Germany
Carson Chan, the precocious architecture aficionado behind beloved non-profit exhibition venue Program, curates Dark Science, a group show opening at Curators Without … Borders on Thursday. In addition, Chan will prove his unrelenting energy by opening an exhibition entitled Present Perfect, featuring the work of Edith Dekyndt (pictured here), at his own space the same evening. Not only are both of these shows worth a look, but the after party at Scala (Friedrichstrasse 112A), hosted in conjunction with Art News Projects (who will also have an opening on Thursday), will be open to the public for 2€. Don't miss it. [link]
Crazy Horse at Skulpturen Park
Kommandantenstrasse / Neue Grünstrasse, 10969 Berlin
[link]
Brunnenstrasse Breakfast on Saturday
Brunnenstraße 3
10119 Mitte, Berlin, Germany
A slew of galleries on Brunnenstrasse will host a brunch on Saturday from 9:30 a.m.-noon. Among the 13 participating galleries are Goff+Rosenthal, Klemm's, Nice&Fit, … Filiale, Artnews Projects, and Galerie Brigit Ostermeier, all of which have commendable programs and will apparently also have free food and booze to rehabilitate gallery goers from the Friday night festivities. Although it's usually not recommended to beat a hangover by milling about under fluorescent lights and discussing conceptual art, free bellinis are hard to turn down. (photo) [link]
Blütenweiss's ANONYMOUS DRAWINGS N#8 at Meinblau.e.V
Christinenstraße 18
10119 Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany
Blütenweiss, a "nomadic art project" that mounts exhibitions in various venues, will open an one on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Pfefferberg's showroom, Meinblau.e.V, The show … closes this Sunday with a "finissage" beginning at 6 p.m. The exhibition is the 8th installment of the Anonymous Drawings series, where each of the approximately 300 anonymous works on view can be purchased for 150€ -- at which time the work is removed from the wall and the artist's full name is revealed. All revenue earned from this three-day show will be donated by the artists to Blütenweiss for the continuation of its grassroots enterprise. [link]
Autocenter
Eldenaer Straße 34a
10247 Friedrichshain, Berlin, Germany
Autocenter openings tend to digress from civilized affairs into drunken techno-laden dance parties. This could be due in part to the owner's other gig running Babette, a … swank lounge prone to late night DJ sets that's affectionately referred to as the glass cube. Thursday night, beginning at 9 p.m., Autocenter will lure art lovers away from Mitte to the depths of Friedrichshain for a group show entitled The End Was Yesterday. Works on display will include pieces by John Kleckner, Christian Jankowski, and Andreas Hofer. Definitely make the trip for this one, and please remind the DJ he owes me 150€. (photo) [link]
