Like clockwork, springtime in Berlin brings brighter skies, warmer temperatures, and a wave of must-see exhibitions for Gallery Weekend Berlin. This year, the event celebrates its 20th anniversary edition, taking place April 26–28, with over 90 presentations at more than 60 locations across the city.
Even as one of Berlin’s most important art events reaches an important milestone, its new director, Antonia Ruder, said the key to Gallery Weekend Berlin’s continued success is highlighting what’s fresh on the scene.
“My focus is on young galleries, and they also receive special attention in the communication of the event,” Ruder told ARTnews. “The young galleries are particularly important for the representation of young artists.” Not to be missed are the proverbial “new kids on the block,” Heidi and Molitor, two galleries founded in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Fitting with the celebratory air of this year’s Gallery Weekend, a handful of established spaces will have their own anniversaries: both Max Hetzler and Kicken are celebrating 50 years, while Klosterfelde Edition marks 35 years on the scene.
What would Gallery Weekend be without some treats for early birds? Alongside the 50 official galleries are a constellation of other spaces opening new exhibitions. Be sure to add the group show “Shudder Mornings” at the new Kreuzberg hotspot Cabin and Hannah Rose Stewart’s solo show “Apotheke” at Sandy Brown to your itinerary.
The champagne will soon be poured as the crowds pack in to see a mix of contemporary and historical shows. Before you throw on your spring gallery outfits and dash around the city, here are five must-see shows at Gallery Weekend Berlin 2024.
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“territory” at Sprüth Magers
Image Credit: Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers The major group show “territory,” which focuses exclusively on female Asian artists, will award visitors with a gripping, multisensory experience carefully curated by Shi-ne Oh, senior director of the gallery’s Berlin branch. Taking over all the gallery’s exhibition spaces, the five artists, none of whom are represented by Sprüth Magers, confront everything from the restraints of language and memory to the boundaries of the body in their work. Besides the obvious political connotations associated with physical borders, “territory” also aims to confront the very definition of the borders and boundaries surrounding us, questioning “how they both limit and liberate our transgressive desires on physical as well as psychological terrain.”
Downstairs, Gala Porras-Kim’s Untitled (Efflorescence) acts as a literal division. Created especially for the exhibition, the concrete partition is supersaturated with salt, slowly deteriorating as it rises to the surface. Nearby, a mix of scents is central to Tan Jing’s dueling olfactory works. Brittle plaster tiles stretch across the gallery floor in Floor Tiles and Flowers, crumbling and releasing a blend of spices native to Thailand, while fabric floral garlands created for The Souvenir II layer in the fragrance of Thai talcum powder. Meanwhile, Liu Yujia’s two video works, Harvesting and Mushrooms, focus on wood ear fungi harvesting in the China–North Korea border region, melding the political, personal, and spiritual.
Upstairs, Mire Lee’s kinetic sculptural work Look, I’m a fountain of filth raving mad with love captures the sound of slowly spinning sludge inside cavernous concrete mixers. And in the gallery’s Window space, Zhang Ruyi’s takeover offers an examination of China’s accelerated urbanization throughout the 1990s through the recurrence of cacti.
April 27–June 29, at Oranienburger Straße 18, 10178 Berlin.
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“Haley Mellin: Biodiversity and Betadiversity” at Dittrich & Schlechtriem
Image Credit: Courtesy the artist and Dittrich & Schlechtriem Since opening its doors in 2011, Dittrich & Schlechtriem has developed a strong reputation for showcasing experimental, more youthful positions. Its Gallery Weekend Berlin show promises to continue the trend with artist and conservationist Haley Mellin taking over the space for the first time. In “Biodiversity and Betadiversity,” climate change takes the spotlight as Mellin presents a series of new works that tap into her lifelong commitment to environmental justice, conservation, and the sustainable evolution of diverse ecosystems.
As both the founder of the nonprofit organization Art to Acres and co-founder of a number of initiatives taking on climate sustainability in art communities, Mellin’s passion is infused in each piece. The focus of this new exhibition will be a series capturing the very ecosystems she is fighting to protect. Observational paintings and drawings of landscapes, both gestural and detailed, are created specifically through the use of gouache and charcoal, mediums picked for their non-toxic properties.
Grab your calendars and jot this one down: Alongside the exhibition, Mellin will also take part in a panel conversation at the gallery on Friday, April 26, at 4pm moderated by Klaus Biesenbach, director of the Neue Nationalgalerie.
April 24–June 29, at Linienstrasse 23, 10178 Berlin.
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“Akeem Smith: SOUNDCLASH” at Heidi
Image Credit: ©2024 Akeem Smith/Courtesy the artist and Heidi, Berlin Of the many galleries to check out on Kurfürstenstraße in Schoneberg, art lovers may hear Heidi’s new show before they see it. “SOUNDCLASH” marks the second solo exhibition by artist Akeem Smith, who has created a series of new sound installations for his high-decibel sophomore outing. Literally taking inspiration from his childhood in Kingston, Jamaica, Smith created the works from the remnants of old building materials found around the city.
The tall, lean sculptures continue the artist’s ongoing interrogation of the concept of “loudness.” This time tackling the term’s pejorative use in regard to protest, cultural expression, and social communication. As a press release explains, “When Smith loads his sculptures with the sounds of protest, including plaintive screams and cry for help, his work asks whether the desperation of the powerless, when accumulated and amplified, drifts into this territory of loudness.” The auditory experience of “SOUNDCLASH” will offer a moment of reflection before visitors dash off to the next location on their Gallery Weekend itinerary.
April 26–June 1, at Kurfürstenstraße 145, 10785 Berlin.
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Sofia Salazar Rosales and Gabriel Chaile at ChertLüdde
Image Credit: Photo Marjorie Brunet Plaza/Courtesy the artist and ChertLüdde, Berlin
In the southern end of Schöneberg, ChertLüdde will play host to two concurrent exhibitions by Cuban-Ecuadorian artist Sofia Salazar Rosales and Argentine artist Gabriel Chaile, marking each artist’s second solo shows at the gallery. Salazar Rosales has created a series of site-specific sculptural worlds that dive into the connections between her personal history and her deep ancestral roots. Dancing forms the foundation of this exhibition, with the artist’s fluid sculptures prompting viewers to welcome the electric uncertainty and thrill of dancing with a stranger—a concept that feels right at home in Berlin’s club-centric cultural sector.
Meanwhile, Chaile’s new exhibition centers around a large environmental installation dedicated to the tapir, the Amazon region’s largest surviving native terrestrial mammal. Strokes and lines can be seen within the adobe clay on view here. With a focus on his pre-colonial heritage, the immersive, must-see show continues Chaile’s work in highlighting the Indigenous cultures of northeast Argentina.
Sofia Salazar Rosales: April 26–June 22, at Hauptstrasse 18, 10827 Berlin.
Gabriel Chaile: April 26–July 20, at Hauptstrasse 18, 10827 Berlin. -
“Eliza Douglas: GIFT” at Contemporary Fine Arts
Image Credit: Courtesy the artist and Contemporary Fine Arts As a general rule, contemporary art aficionados typically make time to see Eliza Douglas’s latest endeavors. The artist, musician, and part-time fashion muse is showing a slew of new works in their first solo exhibition at CFA. The exhibition will present a series of works that celebrate the vitality of painting, especially as a means of depicting the complexities of human experience and perception.
The American artist has staked out a well-deserved reputation for imbuing their work with edginess and wit. The new show is poised to offer viewers a fresh selection of works to contemplate long after Gallery Weekend ends. “GIFT” will highlight Douglas’s own history and relevance in contemporary society while exploring the history of the medium.
April 26—June 1, at Grolmanstraße 32-33, 10623 Berlin.
