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11. Juni 2010
ALLES BERLINER
Anna Barriball, Tacita Dean, Thomas Demand, Peter Doig,
Jeffrey Eugenides, Joachim Grommek, Mathew Hale, Stefan Hirsig, Damien Hirst, Olav Christopher Jenssen, Hubert Kiecol, Walter Kranz, Elke Krystufek, Sean Landers, John Miller, Chris Ofili, Daniel Richter, Danh Vo, Mark Wallinger, Rachel Whiteread, Karen Yama
On June 11, 2010 (7-9 pm), the Niels Borch Jensen Galerie will open an exhibition which showcases the
strength and diversity of the art scene in Berlin over the past 15 years.
It is art, not politics, which sets the tone in Berlin! The government moved back here in 1999. But the art
scene never abandoned Berlin, and it reflected the fresh impulses of a united Germany immediately after
the fall of the Wall. The art market in Berlin has continuously developed, and continuously grown, since
that time.
Our exhibition reflects the plethora of art and artists who have enriched the city of Berlin in the first two
decades following reunification. Many of the artists shown here stood at the beginning of their careers
when the works presented were made. Today they number among those who helped shape our vision of
the art of the early 21st century.
Recent work by the Vietnamese artist Danh Vo, who is among the artists selected for the Sixth Berlin
Biennale this year, will be exhibited alongside works from the „Stützmappe“ (1995) and the “Bonobos”
portfolio (2003). The common framework of Berlin, and nothing else, lends an unmistakable coherence to
this exhibition, which includes graphic print works by:
Anna Barriball, Tacita Dean, Thomas Demand, Peter Doig, Jeffrey Eugenides, Joachim Grommek,
Mathew Hale, Stefan Hirsig, Damien Hirst, Olav Christopher Jenssen, Hubert Kiecol, Walter
Kranz, Elke Krystufek, Sean Landers, John Miller, Chris Ofili, Daniel Richter, Danh Vo, Mark
Wallinger, Rachel Whiteread, and Karen Yama.
The reunion of such an extraordinary group of artists in Berlin is owing not least of all to institutions such
as the DAAD and the American Academy. Several of the artists here presented first came to Berlin in the
1990s on stipends or exchange programs sponsored by these institutions. Several chose to stay when their
stipend was over.
The city’s energy has animated and inspired all those who have passed through it. Whether they moved on
after a creative interval or chose to make their studios and homes here, the connection these artists made
to Berlin has proved to be a lasting one. Even those who moved on leave a suitcase in Berlin and come
back regularly to play a part in the mecca of contemporary art.
The print workshop and gallery of Niels Borch Jensen has continuously provided a forum for encounter and
collaboration during this period in Berlin. Many artists worked in the medium of print-making for the very
first time in our workshop. The Stützmappe and the Bonobos portfolio arose from encounters and
friendships formed in Berlin. The works that resulted lend expression to a unique collaboration that took
place in our workshop.
In making Bonobos, artists such as Tacita Dean from England and Thomas Demand from Germany
undertook a common voyage with the American writer Jeffrey Eugenides. In the Stützmappe, Damien Hirst
and Rachel Whiteread, for instance, made works that proved to lay the groundwork for a new direction in
their subsequent art. The Stützmappe also includes works by Daniel Richter, among others, who was still
at the Kunstakademie at the time they were created in 1995.
The Niels Borch Jensen Galerie is hosting with this exhibition a sort of Berlin dialogue. The various tones,
perspectives, and timbres that resonate here orchestrate the common experience of these artists in our
workshop. Together, they reveal Berlin as a city in which extraordinary artists meet, get to know, and
challenge one another.
ALLES BERLINER – an exhibition of contrasts, which puts Berlin in the spotlight.
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