Old Dog Learning New Tricks
Even before entering Sjur Eide Aas‘ exhibition Old Dog Learning New Tricks, ones gaze is drawn to two large-scale paintings. From a distance, they appear to depict pastel landscapes or geological formations. But as one comes closer, the view into the supposed distance is obscured and a doorway emerges. At the latest when one notices […]
Melanie Jame Wolf: A stage she’s going through
With Becoming B, Antje Weitzel, the new artistic director, initiates a long-term transformation process that reimagines Künstlerhaus Bethanien as a dynamic space for exchange, creation, and presentation. Over the course of a year, we will explore in five chapters—together with artists, cultural practitioners, and the Berlin public—how the name and identity of the institution might […]
Blue-Black
Manar Moursi’s exhibition at Künstlerhaus Bethanien investigates the lingering residues of colonial and environmental violence across multiple scales—bodily, ecological, historical, and personal. Through video, performance, sculpture, installation, and collaborative workshops, it explores how landscapes and bodies carry embedded histories of exploitation—not as passive traces but as forces actively shaping the present. Ecological violence here is […]
The Constant Unraveling Flurry We Depend Upon
The exhibition The Constant Unraveling Flurry We Depend Upon by artist Jia-Jen Lin contemplates the intricate tapestry of human existence amid escalating sociopolitical and ecological crises. Presenting the artist’s first mixed-reality installation, the exhibition transforms abstract concepts of landscape, deterioration, and memories of loss into a tangible audio-visual environment that bridges the virtual and physical […]
Green Growth
For her exhibition at Künstlerhaus Bethanien, marking the conclusion of her residency, Steinunn Önnudóttir is creating a site-specific installation that explores the fragile balance between decay and growth. She engages with the visual and material language of these processes, making visible the subtle, often overlooked dynamics that permeate urban space. At the core of the […]
Placeholder
In her exhibition Placeholder at Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Sara Wu places the audience in an unusual spatial situation: an elongated construction blocks the wandering gaze, a contemplative lingering seems impossible. Blank spaces in the walls emphasize the architectural construction and its placement in the space, interrupted by sculptural elements that appear like the memory of a […]
Voices
Voices is a video essay that explores the history of channeling practices and their development within the context of New Age spirituality and emerging technologies. The work blends archival footage, found material, and original content to examine how channeling—the act of giving one’s voice to unseen forces—serves as a tool for both personal and collective […]
Do You Have Something to Fight for?
What is worth fighting for in the face of current crises and a democracy that is increasingly under pressure? What themes characterize the history of social democracy and how are these reflected in the extensive art collection of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung? These questions form the starting point of the two-part exhibition to mark the 100th anniversary […]
The Practical Guide to Gardening
In his exhibition The Practical Guide to Gardening, Esvin Alarcón Lam intertwines intimate photography with his deep, ongoing exploration of bamboo—a material both symbolically and practically significant to his artistic practice. The artist uses bamboo as both a metaphor and a medium to explore themes such as identity, queerness, and colonialism. At the heart of […]
Liminal State(less)
In her exhibition Liminal State(less), Tini Aliman explores the state of ambiguity, disorientation and transition. The artist considers socio-topographical borders and transit zones as deeply political sites and actions. She examines the turbulent coexistence of social infrastructures and various ecosystems that surround urban space. The artist contemplates the feeling of displacement and homesickness – a […]