Sunday 30 June 2013

System And Sensuality

Probably not a priority for most, System Und Sinnlichkeit - an exhibition of contemporary drawings - at Kupferstichkabinett Berlin is particularly appealing to me since that's exactly what I have been practising.  The non-figurative minimalist and sometimes mathematical works on view, including my favourite multi-talented Carsten Nicolai, are truly inspiring.

Channa Horwitz:


Carsten Nicolai:


Owen Schuh:



Along the same vein are Franka Hörnschemeyer's playfully architectural prints I saw at Galerie Thomas Schulte the day before:



Couple recent drawings of mine:


Saturday 29 June 2013

Qureshi: violence, beauty and hope

One of the greatest shows I've seen in Berlin this time is Deutsche Bank KunstHalle's (formerly known as Deutsche Guggenheim) Artist Of The Year 2013 show featuring their winner this year, Pakistani-based Imran Qureshi.  Trained as a miniature painter in his home country, Qureshi works in both grand and miniature scales.  I'll show his more intimate miniature paintings later but here are his larger-scale paintings and installation:










Friday 28 June 2013

Strunz's space-collapsing torque

Berlinische Galerie has become one of my favourite galleries in Berlin.  Their temporary exhibitions are always exciting to see every time I visit there.  They are currently showing Katja Strunz's solo exhibition Drehmoment (Viel Zeit, Wenig Raum)*.  Strunz has long been exploring the collapse of time and space.  With her body of new works, she has contracted and manipulated terrestrial space like folding a sheet of paper - very fascinating idea.












*Drehmoment (Viel Zeit, Wenig Raum) = Torque (Much Time, Little Space) in English

Thursday 27 June 2013

Sehr Gut

Five hours of my first full day in Berlin were spent at Hamburger Bahnhof.  Martin Kippenberger's major retrospective Sehr Gut | Very Good was a highlight show at this old train station.









Wednesday 26 June 2013

Winterreise + Maid Of Orleans

My travel to Berlin has not been a smooth one.  My flight from Toronto was delayed for four hours, which made it impossible for me to catch my connecting flight at München.  That's exactly the reason why I hate indirect flights.  Luckily, there were many Lufthansa flights linking München and Berlin.  I hopped into one almost instantly when I reached München.  But my plan to visit Daimler Contemporary in the afternoon was ruined.  I need my fix now ...

Atom™'s minimalist textured soundscape Winterreise, 2012


Video from gjensse's youtube channel


Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark's Joan Of Arc (Maid Of Orleans), from their 1981 album Architecture & Morality:


Video from fritz5135's youtube channel

Monday 24 June 2013

Posenenske vs Schene

I'm flying to Berlin tonight.  Think I'll post something I saw in Berlin a year ago.  Looking forward to my visit again ...

Charlotte Posenenske at Daimler Contemporary, Berlin 2012:



Eckhard Schene at Daimler Contemporary, Berlin 2012:


Google + Black Box

Jennifer Marman & Daniel Borins from their current show The Collaborationists at the Art Gallery of Hamilton (AGH):







Sunday 23 June 2013

The Collaborationists

Jennifer Marman & Daniel Borins's show The Collaborationists at the Art Gallery of Hamilton (AGH) just opened a week ago.  Since I'll be away for more than a month, and I can't wait until I come back to see this much anticipated show, I had to take a short trip to Hamilton this weekend.  Marman and Borins has presented at this show their continued exploration of corrupted information, surveillance and security through minimalist paintings and installations ranging from playful to heavy.  It's got to be one of the best shows this year.

Marman & Borins at the AGH, Hamilton 2013:










More to come tomorrow ...