The Gallery Weekend Berlin 2011

by Manuela Castiglione | Apr 29, 2011 in Art | Leave A Comment

Grand opening today for the seventh Gallery Weekend Berlin.

From April 29th to May 1st 44 galleries spread all over the city will highlight the artworks of their best artists. Overseen by a committee of Berlin dealers and under the direction of fair promoter Michael Neff, the Gallery Weekend has become over the years one of the most important art events on the spring art calendar in Europe, attracting collectors and art lovers from all over the world.

In the sunny weather, it will be a pleasure to cruise around the colourful Berlin by bike and pop across the exhibitions that interest you the most. From this year you can facilitate your tour by using EYEOUT, that I discovered to be the Gallery Weekend Berlin 2011´s official app, totally free of charge, where you will be informed about opening times, exhibition details and extra events.

In three days there is a lot to see, but I did the list of my favourites. The installation by Ai Weiwei at Neugerriemschneider. The city is literally overwhelmed in these days by hand made signs protesting the artist´s disappearance and the exhibition will be the climax of this popular participation. Like at the Tate Modern Gallery in London, the exhibition will highlight a suite of porcelain sculptures, made in Jingdezhen, surrounded by tree sculptures constructed of wood from the Chinese mountains.

Then at KOW Berlin I will see the American icon Cady Noland and the Spanish social perfomer Santiago Sierra. At carlier I gebauer I am very excited to attend the show of Rosa Barba, the Italian young artist that has been exhibiting “Time Machine” at the Ambasciata Italiana. Always interested into Italian art, I will go to Arratia, Beer where Francesco Vezzoli will feature together with Wim Delvoye and Lawrence Weiner “As long as it lasts“. Then I want to see at Isabella Bortolozzi Galerie the Turner Prize winner Susan Philipsz. Absolute must of the weekend is the opening of Blain Southern on Potsdamerstrasse with Tim Noble and Sue Websters and their pharaoh tomb-inspired, labyrinth installation.

The good piece of news is that most of the shows are long-term events, lasting into June, making the tour across Berlin art less a “eat and go” event and rather a sustainable art initiative.