Merzbau-Garten – moduel II
Merzbau-Garten – Module II (Sept 9th - Oct 10th 2020) is part two of three, gallery space exhibitions in the untraditional and non-commercial, project space; Kinderhook & Caracas Gallery in Berlin. They typically work with Berlin-based artists, writers, filmmakers, musicians and thinkers, and known known for solo exhibitions that expand around whole gallery space, from top to bottom and in every crevice. In Merzbau-Garten, the pieces range from small paintings on the wall, and small clay sculptures hanging, to massive paper cut out design that takes up more than just the whole ceiling. I like how everything links through a cohesive style and the same colours being used throughout the whole building, creating a very in-depth Alice in Wonderland-like fantasy world, as the show is meant to be both surreal and mundane. This work is a collaboration, co-curated by seven different creatives. Along with all the gallery’s projects, Merzbau-Garten has a piece of researched text developed with the creators to go along side it. This is a way for the viewers to have a more in-depth understanding for what they see, but without their being any restricted reading of the exhibition.
Why a gallery in Berlin?
We both moved here over 10 years ago and started the space in 2011. Berlin has a lot going on, so in some ways another space for art is not as vital as it may be in a smaller city with far fewer options. But Berlin also has an enormous number of artists from all over the world, so there are always overlooked perspectives. We exclusively work with artists based in Berlin for many reasons. Namely, it makes meeting about and developing projects much easier, saves on accommodation, transport of works, and a lot of other logistics, plus it consistently builds community here rather than "parachuting in" artists from elsewhere, who quickly leave after the opening.
Who makes up this gallery?
Our space is run by myself, Christopher Kline, and Sol Calero. But of course the content consists of the ideas of many many people.
Do you sell any art, if so how?
No, we don't sell art. Mostly because we don't like the mood that would be created between us and the artists we work with when there would be this dangling carrot of sales. It greatly changes not only the relationship, but also affects the work. By removing any pretense of commercial viability, it frees the entire process, so all conversations are focused purely on realizing the best possible project to fulfill the vision of each artist. We also have no interest (or expertise) in doing the legwork to make sales happen, and Berlin has very few collectors so it's not even a realistic option. Commercial galleries in Berlin make most of their sales remotely or at fairs, things that, again, aren't interesting uses of our time.
How would you define what you create?
In Berlin there is a strong sense of what a "Project Space" ("Projektraum" in German) is, and we fit that description. It broadly implies a non-commercial, and often artist-run space which focuses on experimental formats. We are particularly interested in facilitating complex projects by artists, which is perhaps a bit different than just hosting exhibitions. For us a "project" has become something immersive and multi-faceted, and especially as our resources have increased over the years we rarely work with individual works on a white wall, it's always a bigger picture.
How do you come up with ideas for exhibitions?
Sometimes the ideas come from us brainstorming new ways of working, like when we decided to do a "TV Station", and then developed the idea for Conglomerate ( www.conglomerate.tv ) with 3 other artists, which then invited a LOT of other artists to take part and contribute. Other times in the past we've just invited artists who inspire us to do a solo exhibition and their ideas completely drive the process. We simply help steer it, and also have the role of pushing them to realize the more extreme spatial elements of their ideas. We tend to help a lot with the physical production of any installations here.
How do you find artists and what do you look for in them?
We are always looking at art and trying to keep an eye out for people who have a rich imagination and a well of ideas which can explode out into space. We often look for artists who have the ability to "take over" a space in an interesting way. We come across artists via seeing shows here in Berlin, sometimes we see things on instagram but I don't think we've ever invited someone only because of what they put on social media. Still, seeing work online does greatly help to gauge who to invite. Often it is people we meet personally who make an impression, and then we research their work.
Does the gallery have ideas and reach out to artists, or do artists reach out to the gallery?
Since we started in 2011, we always have had a list of projects we want to do which is much longer than what is possible in any given year. There are also many many artists we've wanted to work with for years but who might not fit the timeframe or project we're doing. So, in short, we reach out to the artists we want to work with. People used to write to us to propose shows a lot and we'd have to reject a few artists per month which feels pretty horrible because we don't like to reject anyone. We had to put a message on the contact page of our website that we are unable to respond to submissions because it was too much work to correspond with a negative response so often considering we've never done a show with someone who proposed one unsolicited.
How long is allowed for start to finish and how do you organise the time?
We usually plan the details of our program anywhere from 4 months to 1 year ahead of time. We like to give artists at least 4 months notice for a show because they usually have several other things going on. But 6 months is more ideal. Sometimes things open up and we will invite someone with less notice. But we like to be involved with the development of every project, if not every work, so it takes a lot of time for people to conceive and then develop something. Usually we do studio visits (though not since Corona), then a lot of emails, meetings in the space, and then the last month before the show gets more intense with production, usually in the artists' studios. We like to allow at least 2 weeks for install here, and sometimes up to a month if it's a complex project. We try to put the show on our website a few months in advance, list it in Index (a printed and online Berlin art listing), a make a facebook event about 2 or 3 weeks before (though fb is less and less relevant), and send out a mass email about a week before the opening. Then the shows usually last 4 weeks.
What’s the hardest part?
The hardest part is probably the logistics and keeping everything organized and on-time. It used to be very hard for us to fund the space but we have gotten more into the flow of applying for grants and things over the years. To be honest, my least favorite part is having to reject proposals by artists for shows here. It stresses me out and often leads to a very awkward dynamic.
What’s your favourite part?
My favorite part is just seeing what started as abstract, and sometimes outlandish, ideas manifest themselves in the space through a lot of hard work. I also enjoy complex installs which involve building. As artists ourselves, we have our own practices and aesthetics that are quite clear, so it's fun for us to give what we can to a completely different style of working, and just to serve the vision of someone else now and then. Ideas are never really our own, so the way we work for other artists is kind of how we work for ourselves, just adjusted to what they have in mind.
Do you have any wisdom for aspiring curators?
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