Termine | Wartist

Upper-Class Barbarians: Masquerades of Systemic Violence (ratskeller, Berlin)

From 8 November 2012 until 18 January 2013, ratskeller – Galerie für zeitgenössische Kunst (town hall cellar – gallery for contemporary art) in the basement of the town hall of Berlin-Lichtenberg presents the group show Barbaren der Oberschicht – Maskeraden systemischer Gewalt (Upper-Class Barbarians – Masquerades of Systemic Violence). An interesting contribution are Florian Göttke’s book and video installation “toppled”, addressing the countless statues of Saddam Husseins in Iraq: after Hussein was toppled, his statues shared the same fate. From symbols of his power, they became icons of his downfall, quite fitting to the dictator who at the end was pulled from a hole in the ground as dirty fugitive with a matted beard.

Tony Vaccaro: Retrospective – 70 Years of Photography (Willy-Brandt-Haus Berlin)

© Tony Vaccaro, Camilla-Mayer-Truppe beim „Todeslauf”, Frankfurt/Main, March 1948

From 22 November 2012 until 27 January 2013, Freundeskreis Willy-Brandt-Haus Berlin presents a retrospective with 100 photos spanning seven decades by the US photographer Tony Vaccaro. Not the least in Germany, Vaccaro – who will turn 90 years on 20 December this year – is known best for his pictures from the Second World War and post-war Germany: since the Normandy landings in 1944, he fought in the European theatre of war. Until 1949, he worked for Weekend, a supplement to the magazine Stars and Stripes. After his return to the USA, he was photographer for magazines such as Life, Look and Flair.

Continue reading “Tony Vaccaro: Retrospective – 70 Years of Photography (Willy-Brandt-Haus Berlin)”

Losito-Kunstpreis 2012 to Achim Riethmann

Continue reading “Losito-Kunstpreis 2012 to Achim Riethmann”

Peter Piller: Tatsächliche Vermutungen (Capitain Petzel, Berlin)

From 3 November until 22 December 2012, the Berlin-based gallery Capitain Petzel presents the exhibition “Tatsächliche Vermutungen” (real assumptions) of its artist Peter Piller, represented by the gallery since earlier this year. Piller, born in 1968, often uses his huge newspaper and image archive for his works, for which he applies a new classification system to the results.

Peter Piller: Umschläge #13, 2011-2012, Archival pigment print on Alu-Dibond, 63 x 84.5 cm, © Peter Piller, Courtesy Capitain Petzel, Berlin.

Matthias Ley: Remembering Gwangju (Bürgerforum Wunsiedel)

From 27 October to 2 December 2012, photographer Matthias Ley presents photos from his series “Remembering Gwangju” at Bürgerforum Wunsiedel. Made 2009 to 2010, the work remembers a central event for the development of democracy in South Korea: the revolt in the city of Gwangju against the military dictatorship after the declaration of martial law on 18 May 1980, up to the “Gwangju massacre” on 27 May 1980. While the crushing of the protests at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on 4 June 1989 received worldwide attention, there was hardly any coverage of the Gwangju massacre in Western media.

Schamal: Peace Bird (MHM Flugplatz Berlin-Gatow)

From 27 October 2012, Schamal – an artist originating from Iraq – presents his most recent Friedensvogel (peace bird) at Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr, Flugplatz Berlin-Gatow (German Air Force Museum, Berlin). As distant, but feasible vision, these peace birds are intended to take to his native country’s skies and “make the children marvel, pleased and question and inspire the adults to reflect on freedom and peace”.

The Desire for Freedom – Art in Europe since 1945 (DHM Berlin)

From 17 October 2012 to 10 February 2013, the Deutsche Historische Museum (German Historical Museum, DHM) Berlin presents the 30th Council of Europe Art Exhibition “The Desire for Freedom – Art in Europe since 1945”. Not the least it is most interesting that the tradition of Enlightenment is the centre of reference instead of the two-bloc confrontation between the East and the West Cold War, as one might have assumed. Thus, multifaceted approaches towards freedom by 113 artists from 28 countries can be seen; paintings, drawings, photos, videos and installations by e.g. Ian Hamilton Finlay, Gerhard Richter, René Magritte, Richard Hamilton, Tadeusz Kantor, Erik Bulatov, Aurora Reinhard and Christo, to name a few. Continue reading “The Desire for Freedom – Art in Europe since 1945 (DHM Berlin)”

Markus Georg Reintgen: “War – Fathers and Sons” (Anti-War Museum Berlin)

© Markus Georg Reintgen: Deutscher Panzer (C-Print, 81 x 54 cm, 2009)

Photo artist Markus Georg Reintgen is addressing war and violence in his work (see also the Wartist article about his series “Remember September”). The exhibition “Krieg – Väter und Söhne” (War – Fathers and Sons) at Anti-War Museum in Berlin (20 October 2012 to 6 January 2013) will show (digitally altered) photos on this subject. Continue reading

Andrew Gilbert: “Colonial Exhibition – Culloden 1746” (power galerie, Hamburg)

„Andrew Gilbert: Colonial Exhibition - Culloden 1746“ Invitation Poster

In the “Colonial Exhibition: Culloden 1746” (on show at power galerie, Hamburg, 27 October – 7 December 2012), the Scottish artist Andrew Gilbert presents a tableaux and series of new drawings in the tradition of a military museum, exploring this epic and blood drenched historical event: the last battle fought on British soil. Born 1980 in Edinburgh, Gilbert is truly fascinated by the British soldier of the 18th and 19th century and its appearance in representations of the colonial wars, around which his extensive work circles. Since 2002, Gilbert is living and working in Berlin. Continue reading

“AKA Peace” Live Auction at Phillips de Pury & Company, London

After having been on show at ICA London (26-30 September 2012), the 24 works of “AKA Peace” will be auctioned on 4 October 2012 at 1930h at Phillips de Pury & Company in London versteigert. An illustrious group of contemporary artists (e.g. Mat Collishaw, Gavin Turk, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Sarah Lucas, Damien Hirst, Antony Gormley and Bran Symondson, initiated by the latter) dealt with the highly symbolic assault rifle AK-47 for the charity organisation Peace One Day.

Damien Hirst: Spin AK-47 for Peace One Day, 2012 (64 × 87.5 × 26.5 cm)