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What's on

Berlin art: What exhibitions are on now?

What's going on in the art world and which Berlin exhibitions should you check out right now?

New

Valentina Murabito, La donna del mare

Valentina Murabito, La donna del mare (analogue photo mounted on canvas, unique print), 2023.

Unravelling the deep connections between mythology and nature, Valentina Murabito reinterprets the themes of Henrik Ibsen’s 1888 play The Lady from the Sea – from which the exhibition takes its name. Drawing on Greek mythology and political philosophy, her surreal works of analogue photography blur the boundaries between reality and fiction, pulling the viewer into an imagined world where ancient myths somehow feel part of everyday life.

  • 68 projects by Kornfeld Galerie, Fasanenstr. 68, Charlottenburg, details.
  • 31.10.24 – 18.01.25
  • Price: Free admission

Johanna Reich, Linguphoria

Phantasma and Signs (150 cm x 100 cm, ink and video projection on canvas) 2024. Johanna Reich © VG Bild-Kunst Bonn 2024

Working extensively with language models and neural networks, artist Johanna Reich uses the works in her latest exhibition, ‘Linguphoria’ to examine how images can be reconfigured into written and spoken language – and vice versa. A set of ink paintings (part of the series Aevorìs / Dancing Islands), and the hybrid videos that make up Phantasma and Signs, are the results of experimentation between colour analysis, poetry and video making.

  • Kornfeld Galerie, Fasanenstr. 26, Charlottenburg, details.
  • 31.10.24 – 18.01.25
  • Price: Free admission

FOTOGAGA: Max Ernst and Photography

Max Ernst, Histoire Naturelle (page XXIX: la roue de la lumière – Lichtrad), 1926, Sammlung Würth © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2023

One of the most important artists from the Dadaist and Surrealist movements, Max Ernst is celebrated for his rule-breaking art practice. ‘FOTOGAGA: Max Ernst and Photography’ looks back on the artist’s oeuvre with a fresh perspective, creating points of connection between his hyper-Surrealist work and the establishment of photography as an art form.

  • Museum für Fotografie, Jebensstr. 2, Charlottenburg, details.
  • 18.10.24 – 27.04.25
  • Price: €12 (€6 reduced)

Last Chance

Pier Paolo Pasolini. Porcili

Photo: n.b.k / Jens Ziehe

‘Porcili’ traces the extraordinary life and career of Italian director and poet Pier Paolo Pasolini. Through a rich collection of photographs, films, costumes and archival news articles, we learn about his connections with the Communist Party, his open queerness and his brutal critiques of the Catholic Church and Italian bourgeois.

  • n.b.k (New Berlin Art Society), Chausseestr. 128-129, Mitte, details.
  • 11.09 – 10.11.24
  • Price: Free admission

Coming Soon

Rituals of Becoming

Image: Yulia Grages / SOV

Concerned with the strange, the fluid, the magical, the melancholic, and the humorous, Berlin-based art collective See Our Vision uses visually rich exhibitions, zines, workshops and artist-led tours to re-conceive the way we experience art. Their newest exhibition ‘Rituals of Becoming’ explores the forces that shape us; examining the rich tapestry of folklores that dominate our childhoods.

  • WERKSTADT, Emser Str. 124, Neukölln, details.
  • 09 – 23.11.24. Opening event: 09.11.24 (12:00-22:00)
  • Free admission

Rineke Dijkstra, Still – Moving: Portraits 1992-2024

Rineke Dijkstra, Vondelpark, Amsterdam, June 10, 2005, © courtesy of the artist, Galerie Max Hetzler, Marian Goodman Gallery and Galerie Jan Mot

For two decades, Dutch artist Rineke Dijkstra has created a complex collection of photo and video works that challenge our traditional notions of portraiture. Focusing primarily on young and adolescent subjects, Dijkstra is able to capture a unique sense of openness and authenticity that is often absent in contemporary photography.

  • Berlinische Galerie, Alte Jakobstr. 124-128, Kreuzberg, details.
  • 08.11.24 – 10.02.25
  • Price: €10 (€6 reduced)

Cracked Up and Burnt Down: Fireworks across five centuries

Laurie & Whittle (publisher), Fireworks in The Hague, around 1744, detail © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek / Dietmar Katz

We’re steadily approaching the time of year when, for better or worse, Berlin transforms into a noisy, explosive, firework-filled spectacle. Despite their many controversies, fireworks have been a significant art form for centuries. The exhibition ‘Cracked Up and Burnt Down’ explores the fascinating evolution, cultural significance, political impact, and environmental consequences of fireworks around the world and throughout history.

  • Kulturforum, Gemäldegalerie, Matthäikirchplatz, Tiergarten, details.
  • 08.11.24 – 09.02.25
  • Price: €20 (€10 reduced) access to all exhibitions

Andrea Pichl, Values of Economy

Andrea Pichl, drawing from the series ’Stasizentrale 1-30’, 2020/21, coloured pencil on paper, 29,7 x 21 cm © Andrea Pichl / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024

How can we understand the historical transfer of power between East and West Germany through a visual lens? Andrea Pichl’s ‘Values of Economy utilises architectural installations to imagine how invisible structures of state power, capital flow, and historical unrest manifest themselves. The works will be exhibited alongside and in dialogue with the Hamburger Bahnhof’s permanent collection of works by Joseph Beuys.

  • Hamburger Bahnhof, Invalidenstr. 50, Mitte, details.
  • 08.11.24 – 04.05.25
  • Price: €16 (€8 reduced) access to all exhibitions

Nan Goldin: This Will Not End Well

Nan Goldin, Picnic on the Esplanade, Boston, 1973, detail, courtesy the artist.

After winning the Käthe Kollwitz Prize in 2022, artist and activist Nan Goldin is getting one of the greatest prizes of all: a full-scale retrospective at Berlin’s most prestigious art museum. ‘This WIll Not End Well’ showcases the photographer’s work at the end of the twentieth century, when she captured her friends and lovers immersed in a fluid, hedonistic bohemia, full of joy, sensuality and suffering.

  • Neue Nationalgalerie, Potsdamer Str. 50, Mitte, details.
  • 23.11.24 – 23.02.25
  • Price: €14 (€7 reduced) for entrance to all exhibitions at the Neue Nationalgalerie.

Now Showing

Parrot Terristories: Hörner/Antlfinger

Hörner/Antlfinger: Karl on the Beach, 2016, photography. Photo: Hörner/Antlfinger

As professors of multimedia storytelling at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne, and as partners who share a home, Ute Hörner and Mathias Antlfingers’ joint artistic practice uses installation, video and sculpture to understand relationships between humans, animals and machines. In ‘Parrot Terristories: Hörner/Antlfinger’, images, film and sound works trace the story of the African grey parrot. From the first paintings which depicted the exotic bird on its arrival in Europe at the time of the transatlantic slave trade (the African grey often made its way onto the same ships which transported sugar and enslaved people), to today, when more African greys can be found as pets in human homes than living wild in their countries of origin.

  • TA T (Veterinary Anatomy Theater, Humboldt University) Campus Nord, Philippstr. 13/Haus 3, Mitte, details.
  • 11.10.24 – 29.03.25
  • Price: Free admission

Gulia Groenke, Minus 10

Foul Fuel | 2024, Gulia Groenke, mixed media

Gulia Groenke’s hometown of Norilsk is at the beating heart of her artistic practice. Located in a heavily industrialised region 400 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, this is a part of the world where the harsh climate and extreme air pollution have resulted in a population life expectancy 10 years below the national average. This grim reality, but also the strength of the city’s inhabitants, is reflected in Groenke’s work.

  • Kant-Garagen, Kantstr. 127, Charlottenburg, details.
  • 05.10 – 29.12.24
  • Price: Free admission

Design for Children

Marba Titzenthaler, daughter of the photographer, with her toys in the house in the Friedrichsstrasse, Berlin, 1914. Photo: IMAGO / piemags

It’s easy to take for granted the stories behind the toys, furniture, spaces and objects that kids use everyday, but since the early 19th century, design has played a huge role in the way we’ve come to understand early childhood development. This exhibition is designed for children and adults alike, and includes plenty of interactive elements for the little ones.

  • Bröhan Museum, Schloßstr. 1a, Charlottenburg, details.
  • 13.10.24 – 16.02.25
  • Price: €8 (€5 reduced). All admission is €5 from 10.09 – 12.10.24.

Hip hop: Conscious, Unconscious

David Banner, Missisippi, 2003 © Mike Schreibe

Tracing more than five decades of hip hop history, this expansive photo exhibition captures the musical and cultural revolution behind the genre. Works by over 50 renowned photographers tell the story of the hip hop movement, from the streets of 1970s South Bronx to the global billion-dollar industry it is today. A special ‘Hip-Hop in Deutschland’ section investigates the political and social impact of rap here in Germany.

  • Fotografiska, Oranienburger Str. 54, Mitte, details.
  • 20.09.24 – 26.01.25
  • Price: €14 Mon-Thurs, €16 Fri-Sun (€8 reduced) for entrance to all exhibitions.

Preis der Nationalgalerie 2024: Pan Daijing, Dan Lie, Hanne Lippard, James Richards

James Richards, Qualities of Life: Living in the Radiant Cold, installation view, Penumbra — Fondazione In Between Art Film, Complesso dell’Ospedaletto, Venice, 2022. Courtesy: James Richards; the Estate of Horst Ademeit; Fondazione In Between Art Film, Cabinet, London; Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi, Berlin; Rodeo, London / Piraeus / Photo: Andrea Rossetti

For the first time in its more than two decade-long history, the Preis der Nationalgalerie has been awarded to four artists: Pan Daijing, Dan Lie, Hanne Lippard and James Richards. Showcasing four newly produced works in a collaborative-style exhibition, the presentation seamlessly blends Lie’s lush floral installation, Lippard’s minimalist works, Richards’ found images and Daijing’s filmed choreography.

  • Hamburger Bahnhof, Invalidenstr. 50, Mitte, details
  • 07.06.24 – 05.01.25
  • Price: €16 (€8 reduced) for entrance to all exhibitions.

After Nature Prize 2024 & Dream On. Berlin, the 90s

At the fringe of the Love Parade, Berlin, 1997 © Annette Hauschild/OSTKREUZ
© Renato Cruz Santos / © Tanjimul Tuhin

On September 14, c/o Berlin launches two new exhibitions showcasing the range of the photographic medium. In ‘Dream On. Berlin, the 90s’, works by artists from the East German-founded photo agency OSTKREUZ document the fall of the Berlin Wall and the tumultuous and rave-filled years of unification that followed.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget, but the natural world and life under global capitalism are inextricably linked. Today, the effects of the climate emergency show us that the natural world is being deeply impacted by human existence. The 2024 After Nature Prize and its accompanying exhibition present works by Laura Huertas Millán and Sarker Protick which aim to explore this topic.

  • c/o Berlin, Amerika Haus, Hardenbergstr. 22-24, Charlottenburg, details.
  • 14.09.24 – 23.01.25
  • Price: €12 (€6 reduced)

Giséle Vienne, This Causes Consciousness to Fracture – A Puppet Play

Installation view Gisèle Vienne. TRAVAUX 2003–2021, Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, 2021. Photo: Martin Argyroglo

For more than 25 years, the artist, choreographer and director Giséle Vienne has used both her work on stage (in puppetry, dance and animation) and in visual art to investigate counterculture. In ‘This Causes Consciousness to Fracture – A Puppet Play’, life-size puppets created by Vienne over the course of her career make up a complex and sprawling installation alongside photographs taken by the artist.

  • Haus am Waldsee, Argentinische Allee 30, Zehlendorf, details.
  • 12.09.24 – 12.01.25
  • Price: €8 (€5 reduced)

Sigmar Polke

Sigmar Polke, Ohne Titel (Dr. Bonn), 1978, Groninger Museum, Groningen. Photo: Martin de Leeuw; © The Estate of Sigmar Polke, Cologne, / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024

His work hasn’t been exhibited publicly for years, but Sigmar Polke remains one of the most influential European artists of the 20th century. Bringing together paintings, photographs, film and prints made between the 1960s and 2000s, this ambitious exhibition will give visitors an insight into Polke’s artistic development and witty approach to art-making.

  • Schinkel Pavillon, Oberwallstr. 32, Mitte, details.
  • 12.09.24 – 02.02.25
  • Price: €6 (€4 reduced) card payments only.

Mariechen Danz, edge out

Installation view, ‘edge out’, Mariechen Danz, Berlinische Galerie. Photo: Makar Artemev

With the human body as her jumping off point, Dublin-born artist Mariechen Danz formulates performances and installations that bridge the gap between scientific and magical thinking. In ‘edge out’, the Berlinische Galerie is transformed by a series of installations, each building on Danz’s extensive visual language of map-making, anatomy and astronomy.

  • Berlinische Galerie, Alte Jakobstr. 124-128, Kreuzberg, details.
  • 13.09.24 – 31.03.25
  • Price: €10 (€6 reduced)

Rirkrit Tiravanija, Happiness is not always fun

Photo: Gropius Bau / Luis Kürschner

When you enter an exhibition, there are certain expectations you’ll probably have about how you’ll use the space. Odds are, eating, drinking, playing and resting aren’t included. For more than three decades, Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija has upended our preconceived ideas of what’s allowed to take place in an exhibition space. ‘Happiness is not always fun’ presents more than 80 of the artist’s works made between 1987 and 2024, and offers visitors the opportunity to share a meal, create screen-print t-shirts and be part of daily public performances.

  • Gropius Baus, Niederkirchnerstr. 7, Mitte, details.
  • 12.09.24 – 12.01.25
  • Price: €9 (€6 reduced)

Mark Bradford: Keep Walking

Mark Bradford. Keep Walking in Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Germany on August 24, 2024 @Jacopo La Forgia

An immersive exploration of race, gender, economic inequalities and resilience in the face of it all, this exhibition is made up of 20 dynamic installations, engaging the mind and senses. Unpacking the lived realities of Black life in America, Bradford’s abstract compositions are crafted from found objects and draw from his own experiences growing up in Los Angeles.

  • Hamburger Bahnhof, Invalidenstr. 50, Mitte, details.
  • 06.09.24 – 18.05.25
  • Price: €16 (€8 reduced) for entrance to all exhibitions

Noah Davis

Noah Davis, 1975 (8), 2013. Private collection © The Estate of Noah Davis. Courtesy The Estate of Noah Davis and David Zwirner. Photo: Kerry McFate

Bringing together around 60 works created over the course of Davis’ prolific, but all too short career (the artist passed away at 32 from cancer), this sprawling retrospective will eventually make its way to the Barbican in London and Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. Celebrated for his portrayals of African American life, the figures in Davis’ paintings are enigmatic, dreamline and always joyful.

  • DAS MINSK, Max-Planck-Str. 17, Potsdam, details.
  • 07.09.24 – 05.01.25
  • Price: €10 (€8 reduced)

Eli Cortiñas, The Machine Monologs – Part 1: The Storm

The Machine Monologs – Part I: e Storm’, 2024, multichannel video installation, video stills (Images used under licence from Shutterstock.com), Eli Cortiñas. Courtesy of the artist.

Video artist Eli Cortiñas wants to introduce you to a world where robots share our thoughts and anxieties. In the exhibition ‘The Machine Monologs – Part 1: The Storm’, audio-visual installations challenge us to consider the influence of technology on our lives and the possibility of a more compassionate future.

  • Fotografiska, Oranienburger Str. 54, Mitte, details.
  • 23.08 – 01.12.24
  • Price: €14 Mon-Thurs, €16 Fri-Sun (€8 reduced) for entrance to all exhibitions.

Muslim InVisibilities: An installation in three variations

Koran stand and Koran bag © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum Europäischer Kulturen / Christian Krug

Islamic culture has been present in Europe for centuries, but how (if at all) is this history reflected in institutional collections like that of the Museum Europäischer Kulturen? For the first of three interventions, the MEK is readdressing the complex history of a number of Euro-Islamic artefacts which first became part of the museum’s collection in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

  • Museum Europäischer Kulturen, Arnimallee 25, Dahlem, details.
  • 08.08.24 – 13.04.25
  • Price: €10 (€5 reduced)

What Times Are These? – Grosz, Brecht & Piscator

George Grosz, Paragraph Tree, 1927, drawing for the production “The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik” at the Piscatorbühne, Berlin 1928, Judin Collection, Berlin

In the winter of 1927, theatre-maker Erwin Piscator staged the satirical anti-war comedy The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik at the Theater am Nollendorfplatz. With the set designed by Georg Grosz and the script adapted for the stage by a collective of writers with Bertolt Brecht at the head, The Good soldier represents one of the most important collaborations between these three friends and dissidents. 

  • Das Kleine Grosz Museum, Bülowstr. 18, Schöneberg, details.
  • 04.07 – 25.11.24
  • Price: €15 (€12 reduced)

Kate Newby, anything, anything

Kate Newby, anything, anything, 2024, Courtesy the artist.

Through a series of subtle interventions, contemporary artist Kate Newby invites visitors to challenge our perception of the Klosterruine: a 13th-century monastery that was heavily damaged in WWII and then conserved as an open ruin. In the outdoor installation, discarded found materials are repurposed, inviting visitors to contemplate the details that are often overlooked in a crowded city.

  • Klosterruine, Klosterstr. 73a, Mitte, details.
  • 09.06.24 – 27.04.25
  • Price: Free admission

Berlin, Berlin: 20 Years of the Helmut Newton Foundation

Photo: Helmut Newton, ‘Wurstmaxe and Consumer,’ Berlin 1991

The name Helmut Newton has been synonymous with bold fashion, nude and portrait photography since his career exploded in the early 1960s. Although lesser-known, Newton’s portrayal of his hometown of Berlin reflects the city as a fantastical backdrop to (in typical Helmut Newton-style) a series of cinematic and sensual moments. Click here to read more about Newton and the legacy of the foundation as it celebrates its 20th anniversary.

  • Museum für Fotografie, Jebensstr. 2, Charlottenburg details.
  • 07.06.24 – 16.02.25
  • Price: €12 (€6 reduced)

Let’s Play Majerus G3

Screenshot of Michel Majerus’ laptop (PowerBook G3), selected by Cory Arcangel, November 2023. Credit: Michel Majerus Estate

‘Let’s Play Majerus G3’ opens more than twenty years after the young Luxembourgish artist Michel Majerus tragically died in a plane crash. Taking as its point of departure the Macintosh Powerbook G3 which the artist used in his late career (and on what might be a macabre note, was actually salvaged from the plane crash wreckage), the exhibition explores the rich tapestry of Majerus’ digital work, examining questions of ownership and originality in an age of shared online networks.

  • Michel Majerus Estate, Knaackstr. 12, Prenzlauer Berg, details.
  • 27.04.24 – 15.03.25
  • Price: Free admission

Goddesses and Consorts: Women in Ancient Myth

Amazons in battle with Greeks, detail, Attic red-figure Pelike, c. 400–390 BC © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Antique Collection / Johannes Laurentius

Horrid Medusa, passionate Aphrodite, ever-faithful Penelope: Reductionist and stereotypical depictions of women have existed since (and well before) the days of ancient mythology. Inspired by critically feminist readings of ancient texts, ‘Goddesses and Consorts: Women in Ancient Myth’ aims to provide a more nuanced look at the expectations, myths and real lives of women in ancient times.

  • Altes Museum, Bodestr. 1-3, Mitte, details.
  • 24.05.24 – 16.03.25
  • Price: €12 (€6 reduced)

Flow: The Exhibition on Menstruation

Sanitary belt, worn in Berlin, probably 1960s © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum Europäischer Kulturen / Christian Krug

Combining personal accounts, archival objects, interviews, music, film and art, ‘Flow: The Exhibition on Menstruation’ examines the discourses, debates and culture around periods. Why is there still a stigma about menstruation? How can we dismantle the culture of shame? And why does modern science still have so far to go in this field? These are just a few of the questions at the core of this exhibition.

  • Museum Europäischer Kulturen, Arnimallee 25, Dahlem, details.
  • 06.10.23 – extended to 09.03.25
  • Price: €8 (€4 reduced)

Joseph Beuys 

Joseph Beuys, Das Kapital Raum 1970–1977, detail, 1980, State Museums in Berlin, National Gallery, Marx Collection © State Museums in Berlin, National Gallery / Thomas Bruns © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2023

One of the most influential figures in Modern art, Joseph Beuyes is being celebrated with a large-scale new exhibition at the Hamburger Bahnhof. Made up of around 15 works, including important installations like Tram Stop: A monument to the future (1976) and Das Kapital Raum, 1970-1977 (1980), the exhibition showcases the complex life and work of Beuys.

  • Hamburger Bahnhof, Invalidenstr. 50-51, Mitte, details
  • 22.03.24 – Until further notice
  • Price: €16 (€8 reduced) for entrance to all exhibitions

Extreme Tension: Art between politics and society – Collection of the Nationalgalerie 1945 – 2000

Barnett Newman: Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue IV, 1969/70, Staatliche Museen zu
Berlin, Neue Nationalgalerie, 1982. Acquired with the support of the Verein der Freunde der National Galerie. Bild-Kunst Bonn, 2023 / Photo: Vog

An expansive survey of art created during the second half of the 20th century, ‘Extreme Tension’ showcases a number of daring and diverse artworks. Political and social unrest characterised the post-war collection, which features key works from East and West Germany, Western Europe, the Soviet Union and the USA.

  • Neue Nationalgalerie, Potsdamer Str. 50, Mitte, details.
  • 18.11.23 – 28.09.25
  • Price: €14 (€7 reduced) for entrance to all exhibitions at the Neue Nationalgalerie.

Roads not Taken

Nocturnal thermonuclear explosion in Nevada USA, 5 July 1957. Photo: National Archives, Washington, D.C. / Public Domain

This new exhibition at the Deutsches Historisches Museum looks back at a series of decisive historical events throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, imagining what would have happened if things had turned out differently. Exploring alternative outcomes to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the first presence of tanks at Checkpoint Charlie, the Nazi’s election victory and more. For the exhibition, staged pictures are juxtaposed with documentation of real events, such as the nuclear explosion in Nevada in 1957.

  • Deutsches Historisches Museum, Unter den Linden 2, Mitte, details.
  • 09.12.22 – 24.11.24
  • Price: €7 (€3.50 reduced), free admission for visitors under 18.