7 May 2025 |
It’s been Bleak Street over here in Berlin. To paraphrase the late, sharp-witted fashion critic André Leon Talley, it’s a famine of originality.
Art has become my fire escape from the flames of mundanity; something to throw myself in front of when I need to feel punctured and possessed by anomalous, rousing, provoking sensation, but this weekend I walked away with not much more than the nagging suspicion that I’d seen it all before.
It’s not that there was a shortage of beauty or skill. Sebastian Jefford’s Toy at Gallery Noah Klink and Mathias Gramoso and Roman Gebhardt’s Clairvoyance at Kunstraum m3 are masterclasses of absurdity, serenity and materiality, both finished to an almost ecstatic state of perfection, while Agata Madejska’s Where Dreams of Laurels Lie at Acre Studios and Leonor Serrano Rivas’ Here be Dragons at carlier | gebauer offer a tactile tenderness that invites the visitor to transcend voyeurism and reach a more connected altitude of experience.
Image credit: Sebastian Jefford, Toy at Gallery Noah Klink 2025. Courtesy of Gallery Noah Klink
It’s not even that this year’s shows were bad, but they fell short of greatness, landing closer to palatable, and even predictable. In my opinion, great art should not feel familiar or formulaic. It should elicit a visceral response, born of courage, conviction or questioning. Sadly, traversing the shows I was able to visit this year felt like witnessing the interrogation of the same tired subjects, over and over, while occasionally being visited by the ghosts of Barbara Hepworth, Richard Serra and Louise Bourgeois.
Image credit: Álvaro Urbano, Installation view of September and the Lions, installation view at ChertLüdde, Berlin, 2025. Photo by Marjorie Brunet Plaza. Courtesy of ChertLüdde, Berlin and Álvaro Urbano, Berlin
The natural world dominated thematically. From Sprüth Magers to ChertLüdde, creeping branches and anatomically impressive leaves were charming but relentless. Leading this city-wide dance through the forest was the latter’s presentation of September and the Lions, an immersive installation by Spanish artist Álvaro Urbano; an undeniable spectacle, but not one that inspired any internal curiosity.
This perhaps harsh critique does not belong to the works mentioned above, but to their curation. Many of the galleries that shape the official Gallery Weekend Berlin programme have secured their positions in the international art landscape while representing and profiting from political, provocative and outspoken artists — so where were they?
It feels impossible not to hold the lack of divisive, thought-provoking and even people-centric work on display up next to Germany’s deepening fascination with centrist and right-wing political leanings. Compared to previous iterations of Gallery Weekend, there was a notable lack of figurative, human representation, while political commentary appeared restricted to matters of humanity versus nature; a strategic side-step away from the societal self-destruction we see in our news feeds on a daily basis.
Image credit: Agata Madejska, ‘Where Dreams of Laurels Lie’ at Acre Studios. Photo by @dotgain.info
Gallery Weekend Berlin’s official website includes its code of conduct, which states that, “Plurality, tolerance, diversity and mutual respect are the foundation of a democratic society and also the basis of the Gallery Weekend Berlin’s work. Therefore, discrimination or any actions based on racist and antisemitic attributions, or targeting ethnic origin, nationality, sexual and gender identity, religion, physical or mental impairment, chronic illness, age, language and social status will not be accepted.”
While that statement in isolation feels important and necessary, in the context of a state where questions around the definitions of prejudice and discrimination are being raised faster than they can be answered, could it be a catalyst for the deafening silence of opinion that, at first glance, appears to be upheld by galleries and artists? Is this something we will see in art showcases around the world as the segregation of communities and differing ideologies continues to rise?
It feels pertinent to remember the response Nan Goldin received from a national art institution and its director when she spoke up against the censorship of critical voices, and to consider the stifling impact that the Berlin government’s heavy-handed €130 million arts and culture funding cuts might have had on artists’ freedom to fail. With limited financing available, and a cultural landscape that is increasingly polarised by political subject matter, creatives are left fighting for visibility and opportunity with finite resources. Forced to create and curate work under an agenda of broad conformity and neutrality in order to maximise their chance of economic survival.
Image credit: Mathias Gramoso and Roman Gebhardt’s ‘Clairvoyance’ at Kunstraum m3
Lead image credit: Leonor Serrano Rivas, Here Be Dragons. Exhibition view at earlier | gebauer, berlin, 2025. Photo: © Andrea Rosetti
