Jackson Pollock at Deutsche Bank Kunsthalle

I am not a big fan of Jackson Pollock and I've seen some of his works at museums across the world without changing my mind. As I always enjoyed the exhibitions at Deutsche Kunsthalle at Unter den Linden, I decided to give one more try and try to learn a bit more about the artist hoping that I will get closer from his philosophy too. 

The exhibition is focused on presenting the largest canvas the artist ever painted, a Mural, a summer commission from the art collector Peggy Guggenheim for the hallway of New York city hall. In order to bring more information about the artistic trend Pollock belongs to, photography or paintings by, among others, Gjon Mili, Aaron Siskind, Barbara Morgan or Andy Warhol, David Reed or Lee Krasner.

Pollock studied early under the American regionalist painter Thomas Hart Benton. When it comes to mural work, he outlined the influence of Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Jose Clement Orozco. Picasso was also a source of inspiration but he soon found his own way and focused more on the vitalist expressionism specific to most of his late and famous works. 

A pleasant discovery of this exhibition was the work of Lee Krasner, Pollock's wife and inspiration. More than once, she suggested a title for his works that he finished under inspirational trance. Her paiting is an emotional explosilon of red on the canvas, the colours looking as going out of the space of the painting for entering the outer space. 

The exhibition as such is very well organised, with many useful information, offering the chance to get to know not only Pollock and his work, but also the intellectual ambiance of his time.

Pollock mural is a chaotic conflict between colours and shapes, many of them repeating itself at least as a combination of the same colours. The aggressive strokes of black are well tempered by the salmon pink and the sweet yellows. The big traces of blue are like the rainbow after the storm. Practically, there is not a classical story or center as any part of the canvas has its own story and relevance for the painting. Such a vortex of contradictions may have offer a lot of discomfort to the workers of the New York City hall, I suppose. It may remind a lot about nowadays works of street art that most probably Pollock would have embraced it for its raw vitality and creativity. 

The exhibition is running till the 10th of April. Mondays, the entrance is free. 

Wild horses at Brandenburg Gate

While arriving by accident at Brandenburg Gate this Friday morning, after a couple of good weeks of motivated absence, I noticed more crowds than usual, with many tourists and cameras focused on massive horses, overpassing more than once the live horses from the touristic carriages parked nearby. Curious, I made a tour of the open air exhibition, trying to figure out what it is all about, till I found a guide that gave me some clear details.

This short-lived photographic attraction was part of an exhibition that took place between 2-9 May, by the Mexican artist Gustavo Aceves, titled 'Lapidarium - To overcome borders'. The project is the result of the cooperation between gallery Jarmuschek+Partner, in cooperation with the Embassy of Mexico in Berlin and Kulturprojekte Berlin. The life-sized horse sculptures are located in opposite t the Quadriga of the Brandenburg Gate.

The exhibition was designed as a reflection about current affairs of Europe and Germany: migration, asylum-seeking and immigration. In the word of the artist himself: 'Lapidarium tries to be a silent witness. So voiceless like the silence of immigrants halfway'.

My first thought I had when I saw the exhibtion was about the Trojan horses, but the symbols seem to go much beyond the Greek mythology.

The horses, free creatures, go on their own restless journeys. The political message of the work is aimed to push and raise awareness for more responsibility to cope with the contemporary problems, especially in terms of new policies regarding immigration.

The reflection point is represented by the end of the war and the images of destroyed Berlin, that are displayed through high resolution pictures all over the city. The question can be what are the lessons learned of Europe after the terrible war years? As this is exclusively a travel blog, I will prefer to avoid to enter into too much discussions about this very sensitive topic.

The exhibition is part of the 'May 45 - Spring in Berlin', project conceived together with Kulturprojekte Berlin, Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, German-Russian Museum Berlin-Karlshorst, and Berliner Unterwelten e.V., the Society for exploration and documentation of subterranean architecture.

For one week, visitors from all over the world and locals had the opportunity to admire these works of art. I think that for most, it was just another touristic opportunity and I am not convinced that the serious and complex message of the work reached too far away.

However, there is part of the work of art to make the world a beautiful and meaningful place. At least for a short while, this exhibition accomplished part of its mission.

New exhibitions at Amerika Haus - C/O Berlin

One of the few places that I visited shortly after relocating to Berlin was the good old Amerika Haus where I intensively studied about cultural diplomacy with the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy. Since then, many years after, the building was turned into an open space for cultural exhibitions, after the C/O Berlin, another favourite exhibition place of mine that was hosted in the Eastern part of the city, was moved here. 

Nostalgically, I returned there two weeks ago, decided to explore the new space and to check the fresh exhibitions. The entire area got a younger air, the classical serious ambiance of the former Cold War being left behind. The shop sells interesting glossy books about the history of arts and big posters of former exhibitions. Photography prevails, but also albums dedicated to modern and contemporary trends in arts. 

It is Sunday, and the place is crowded, outdoors, as many prefer to enjoy their limited portion of sun from the chairs placed outside, or indoors, either wandering through the exhibition spaces or tasting some pastel de nata at the caffe. The space has the air of a Viennaise coffee house, with a reminder that we are in the world of arts though: The Waiting for, the work of Michail Pirgelis, can be admired on the left side of the hall. Created in 2014, it explores the notion of flight, the fragility of the human beings in the middle of the clouds but also suggests new ways of looking at industrial objects, such as airplanes. 

It is about time for visiting the exhibitions, newly open at the beginning of April. At the ground level, the massive photography of natural landscapes reunited under the title Genesis is a passionate quest for the world as it used to be and for a genuine feeling of rediscovering the nature. The black and white photos are testimonies of the artist's search for meaning all over the world, from Okavango Delta to South America, from the frozen North to the middle of the African continent discovering isolated tribes. It is the kind of exhibition that inspires the traveller and at the end of which you want to visit once again. And leave only after entering one of the images on the walls and never coming back in the middle of the concrete buildings.

The second exhibition, at the next floor - Distance and Desire - presents African photography from the Walther collection, covering the late 19th - early 20st century. In the spirit of the time, and sometimes with the discriminatory way of seeing, it presents portraits and figure studies, album pages of local people, the emergent middle class as well as various local personalities. In an ironic way, contemporary artists tried to irreverently combat stereotypes and ethnic visions, through ironic photographies reenacting old postures familiar to the European style of photographing the African continent. 

Last but not least, the last part of my art journey of the day was dedicated to a Eastern German memories. In Kunst. Freiheit. Lebensfreude (Art. Freedom. Joy of Life), Emanuel Mathias give a new lecture to the very monotonous archives of the Cotton Spinning Factory (Baumwollespinnerei) in Leipzig. Presence and absences and various work instructions are read in a very creative and different way, translated as works of art, written words sewn on pieces of cotton. A completely new way to approach the archives that I would like to explore more in the near future. 

The C/O Berlin also has a dedicated program for juniors and teens, teaching photography, film, design, and architecture to youngsters between 14 and 17 years old.

Disclaimer: I was offered a free entrance ticket to the exhibitions, but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Tel Aviv visits Berlin at Martin Gropius Bau

Since the end of March till the 21th of June, Martin Gropius Bau is hosting a very interesting exhibition of over 70 masterpieces of art from the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. Organised on the occasion of the events held for celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and Germany, it aims to bring to Europe not only special works of art diplayed for the first time on the continent, but also samples of contemporary Israeli art. 

Tel Aviv Museum of Art was established for the first time in the house of the then mayor Meir Dizengoff, the new headquarters of the 5-story Amir building labelled as a sample of 'Israeli brutalism' being inaugurated in 2011. A short ironic graphic montage tells the story of the first museum, with added photographic details of the current compound. The exhibition is organized according to different thematic sections, featuring nature, women, the old world etc. It features 20th century artists, many of them with a certain connection with Berlin and Germany such as Kandinsky, Lesser Ury, Max Beckmann, Felix Nussbaum. Most of the works belong to Jewish artists, featuring abstract art, such as the beautiful Bewildered World by Max Ernst, Marc Chagall's Solitude, the very rare Had Gadya illustrations by El Lissitzky, Jackson Pollock outburst of colourful emotions, Chaim Soutine or the special Blue Leaves by Arie Aroch. Personally I was happy to admire the rain of light colours from Paul Ensor or Paul Signac landscapes, Mark Rothko's No. 24 - which is opening the exhibition, the Zurich Ball of Marcel Janco, the Venetian woman by Giacometti or the Old Synagogue by Issacher Ryback, Danseuses by Degas, Egon Schiele and the work of the interesting Arshile Gorky. Interesting works presented are also Lady Lilith by Dante Gabriel Rosetti, Alexander Archipenko, Edvard Munch and Pablo Picasso.

Although I find the selection of contemporary Israeli art - mostly art installations - at centuries distance compared to the 'classical' works, I found the installation by Michal Helfman at the end of the exhibition, an interesting idea. Accompanied by music at certain moments of the day, it develops the theme: 'While dictators rage'. The kites projected on a murky sky are creating the stage for a violing and clarinet concert interpreting a musical piece featured in the 'Triumph of Death' by Felix Nussbaum. 

Out of darkness and persecutions, the spirit triumphs against death and rage of idols. The diversity of the works and styles features at this important exhibition is not only a sample of creativity but also of human perspectives and European history. 

Art at the City Hall: Wilmersdorf Kommunale Gallerie

Compared to many big European cities, including Paris, Berlin is attracting more and more artists from all over the world. Besides the affordable cost of living, there is also something else that brings them here: the many chances offred to creative people to work, including by offering them cheap or even free workshop places and the many opportunities to sell and exhibit their work. An example of institutional interest for the arts is the fact that many borrough city halls do have interesting exhibition spaces presenting regular exhibitions and used as meeting points of the artists. This week, I visited the Kommunale Gallerie of Wilmersdorfer City Hall, close to Fehrbelliner Platz U-Bahn station. The entrance is free and there is a huge 1-storey exhibition place, hosting right now two exhibitions, workshops and a big room with various work of artists on sale or that can be loaned for a couple of days.

The exhibitions that I've seen here before feature usually Berlin artists, some of them living in the area, focused on contemporary arts and photography. Group exhibitions are also common, some of the artists being locally supported. 

The hall was quiet, with the three people employed by the gallery moving slowly near the reception desk, ready to welcome the visitors or to give explanations, if needed. Also at the entrance, there are plenty of leaflets introducing various local cultural events as well as other exhibitions at the other city hall galleries.  

The enormous space of the first floor is dedicated to feature the post-war Berlin artists and the recreation of the new art institutions. The exhibition, open till 24 of May, has interesting artistic insights, but also information about the artists and their personal histories and efforts to reconsider the artistic life. 

The visit at the Wilmersdorf Kommunale Gallerie was intense and taught me a lot about Berlin and its artists. it also made me curious to explore the other galleries hosted by the other city halls. As the spring seems to finally settle down in the city for a while, I can't wait to see more samples of cultural life in one of the hottest cultural cities of Europe right now. 

Rolls Royce on Ku'damm

For a couple of good years already, I am living in the country of the most envied cars in Europe and in the world, and despite my very limited technical knowledge I am doing my best to understand the high precision of the German cars. However, my secret passion are the big adventurous English and American cars. A matter of taste, I know...At the spectacular BMW Building on Ku'damm nr. 31, it was opened a couple of weeks ago an exhibition dedicated to Rolls Royce (opened from Monday to Saturday between 10am-8pm, Sunday between 11am-6pm) that I could not miss to see. 

Do not expect too many cars (this was my big disappointment) and the big cars are silenty watched, and from time to time also cleaned from dust, by local employees. Mr. Rolls and Mr.Royce plotted the creation of Rolls Royce at Midland Hotel in Manchester in 1904. Rolls was the first undergraduate to own a car, and Royce, sold newspapers in 1893, and in 1887 registered his first patent, the bayonet clamp socket. The motto of the company, still proudly followed nowadays is as simple as that: "Strive for perfection in every thing you do. Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, design it".

The models displayed represent different technological stages and historical style. My favourite by far is this beautiful 1926 Phantom 10 Ex Open Tourer. "Ex" stands from Experimental, but looking at it, it seems that it was a very successful experiment. 

 On the other end of the room, an impressive 1964 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III H.J. Mulliner Flying Spur.

The exhibition is elegantly set up, besides the cars, being displayed various designs of engines, technical features of the cars - in English and German - as well as a short history of the company, plus a collection of personalized branded gadgets on sale on the spot. 

The Phantom Drophead Coupe may look a little threatening, but besides the armoured presence there is a lot of elegance and precision used to put together so many small little pieces and details. 

The elegant leather interiors, with comfy chairs and high-end safety standards just reminded me that sometimes, big cars can be beautiful and elegant.

Camera Work and rocks

I may not like their music, but I surely loved their photography. Hidden in an elegant interior yard close to Savigny Platz S-Bahn station, Camera Work is inviting the passers by to an exhibition of photography of big show-biz music stars. It sounds light and entertaining, but the photography exposed is the result of hard creative work. I was impressed by the quality of the work as well as the general design of the exhibition hall. 

David Bowie and Madonna are the most represented, but you will also see Jim Morrison, Serge Gainsbourg (my favourite), Jimi Hendrix, Vanessa Paradis, Mick Jagger, Elvis Presley (during his service in Germany, in 1958), the Beatles (including a Yoko and John lascivious instant caught by Annie Leibowitz)  or Snoop Doggy Dog. Many of them are excellent because they caught up exactly that special look, eye movement or expression that usually makes a picture unique. In painting, it is not that difficult to create emotion, but in photography, especially portrait photography, it's a matter of being ready to push the button at the right moment. Such an intuition cannot be learned, but the result of a long exposure to images and human life in general. 

Sting

At the beginning of the 20th century, Camera Work was the name of a quarterly photographic journal, created by the American photographer Alfred Stieglitz, published for over a decade (1903-1917). The German art gallery was created in 1997. It regularly presents contemporary photography reunited under a specific topic, like movies, gender issues etc.. This exhibition can be seen till 17 August. Most of the painting presented can be bought, from prices between 2,000 and 37,500 Euro (for Madonna). The entrance is free. It has another location in Berlin opened the last year. 

The Foreigner in Berlin went to the Pergamon Museum (again)

When many people take the full advantage of a full sunny Sunday for some outdoor activities and eventually a pick nick in the middle of the town, the Foreigner in Berlin went to museum. At the Pergamon museum, a place where I've been less than 6 months ago. This time, I was interested in the temporary exhibition dedicated to the antique city of Uruk.

Apparently I was not the only one who decided to spend some hours at the museum, as there were plenty of people, mostly guided groups of tourists interested in the history of the Middle East. 

The king fighting the lion

Located in South Mesopotamia - nowadays South of Iraq - Uruk is considered the oldest major city in the world. It started ad a 2,5 sq.km locality and developed further as a 5.3 sq. km. town, a huge accomplishment at the time - 4th century CE. The development imposed certain changes in the social structure and determined at a great extent the development of writing, first as a way to record various merchandises and to organize the daily productive activities - one of the first clay tablets recorded are aimed to keep the record of workers and their shifts. Interesting construction techniques were developed, as for instance the cone facade, partially reconstructed, presented at the exhibition. The city was not rich in natural resources so many of the raw materials were brought from abroad. Thus, it was exposed to interesting cultural and human exchanges that can be noticed in the decorations and some of the jewellery discovered in tombs. 

Uruk is considered a legendary town also as directly associated with the adventures of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, but the historians quoted by the organizers of the exhibition

say that there it s not a clear record of Gilgamesh's deeds.

The special cones technique

The artefacts presented at the exhibition are the result of 100 intensive years of excavations. Due to the tensed situation in the region from the 1980s, the researches were mostly stopped. After the end of the Saddam dictatorship, the internal fights and social problems continued to affect the researches and extended archaeological programs are impossible. Besides Berlin, the objects exposed were brought from France or from the British Museum in London. 

The history of the city is presented either through various digital reconstructions and short movies presenting the progress of the archaeological findings, or through thematic introduction in the daily life of the city. In a simple and organized way, we are introduced to the pantheon of local deities, the social structure, the first traces of the discovery of the writing. You don't have to be a scientist to understand it and the audio guided tour provided for free at the entrance is very helpful in explaining what we see. 

If you are not yet interested in the complicated and fascinating history of the region, you might be after this exhibition. In any case, it is a good way to spend your free time in Berlin.