Had a relaxing August? Ready to jump into all the exhibitionary flutterings of the Fall? — to pun with the American lingo. Barcelona, Seoul, Chicago, Berlin, London, Paris… I am sure there are other international art convenings I am overlooking… Personally, I’m kicking the season off in Munich with Various Others. An “international format”, the event enlivens the city’s art scene through collaboration and reciprocity. The “format” is simple: galleries, artist-run spaces and various other institutions from Munich extend an invitation to various other galleries, artist-run spaces, curators and institutions from elsewhere across the globe and together they develop a project, exhibition or event. Opening on September 5th, Various Others affords a unique opportunity to experience some of the best contemporary art from Munich, indeed from around the world.
This will be my second time in the city, and I am only there for three days 🙁 Planning is vital therefore! In the spirit of sharing, here is my long list of the exhibitions I am hoping to leaf through.
Nir Altman with Gathering
With Berlinde De Bruyckere, Emanuel de Carvalho, Jenny Holzer and James Lewis each presenting an “artistic position”, I am expecting something neo-noir, or at least something poetically grey.
Paulina Caspari, I Would Not Think To Touch The Sky With Two Arms, curated by Andrew Dubow
What happens when 15 contemporary artists, emerging and established, from places all over the world, come together around a single painting? — a historical painting by Franz von Stuck, a dark dreamer born in 1863 (Tettenweis, Germany) and who died in 1928 (Munich, Germany). With each artist working in different media and in different styles, I Would Not Think To Touch The Sky With Two Arms will contextualise Stuck’s painting within 21st century discourses, conveying the relevance of symbolism and dreamery to contemporary life — my kind of thinking.
variousothers.com/paulina-caspari
Espace Louis Vuitton München, Rineke Dijkstra, THE KRAZY HOUSE
The video installation The Krazy House seems to come from a straightforward place: Rineke Dijkstra’s interest in adolescent culture. Indeed, the work itself sounds simple: video footage of adolescents dancing to their favourite songs, filmed in a Liverpool nightclub made up to look like an anomalous studio. Re-imagined for the Espace Louis Vuitton München, the work’s seeming simplicity can be seen to reflect the staging of life so prevalent across contemporary style culture.
variousothers.com/espace-louis-vuitton-muenchen
max goelitz with Sprüth Magers, Jenna Sutela and Pamela Rosenkranz, dirt
From the title guess what is going to be the most Instagrammed part in this exhibition? Centred around Jenna Sutela’s installation Vermi Cell — a soily mound of compost which generates the electricity to power a sound system as it biodegrades — dirt reflects upon the hidden interconnectedness of human and more-than-human forms of life. Positioned alongside Sutela’s installation, festering two dimensional works by Pamela Rosenkranz will establish something of a material dialogue within the exhibition; a conversation through which the boundary between organic and synthetic dissolve.
Goetz Collection with the Deutsches Theatermuseum, Encounters. Artistic perspectives on cinema
I have been having a lot of conversations recently about artists’ moving image; specifically, about the material differences and means of distribution that distinguish ‘moving image’ from ‘cinema proper’. Unsurprisingly then Encounters. Artistic perspectives on cinema is on my long list.* Bringing together a number of artists who work in moving image, Encounters offers a case-in-point view on how artists challenge, co-opt and create through the aesthetic strategies of cinema.
*I also love a good artist film, another reason to see this collaboration.
variousothers.com/sammlung-goetz
Françoise Heitsch, Manuela Gernedel and Paulina Nolte, O/U
A duo show billed to “descend into the depths of subterranean realms”, I am interested to see how both artists’ multifaceted practices sit together here. “With a nod to the gallery’s architecture” I am specifically interested to see how the artist’s works perform across the gallery space, to pull me into a realm beneath the face of things.
variousothers.com/francoise-heitsch
Jahn und Jahn with David Nolan Gallery and Schönewald Fine Arts, Chapeau Fred II. American Drawings
Paul Thek, do I need to say much more…? How about Richard Tuttle, Al Taylor, Richard Artschwager, Willem de Kooning? A collaboration with David Nolan Gallery (New York) and Schönewald Fine Arts (Düsseldorf), Chapeau Fred II. American Drawings seems to be a macho exhibition. Coinciding with the 80th birthday of Fred Jahn (the gallery’s OG founder), the exhibition is something of a reflection on Fred’s career, his determination, dedication and risk taking — as a contextual note, Fred was one of the first gallerists to bring American art to Munich. Personally, I just wanna see Thek!
variousothers.com/jahn-und-jahn
Kunstverein München, Key Operators. Weaving and coding as languages of feminist historiography
Bringing together 17 artists, this exhibition, and the accompanying events programme, “focus[s] on the links between feminized labor, technological advancements, and their associated languages”, to quote the press text. Featuring new and older works, by artists I know (and love) alongside names I am not familiar with, I am interested to take in the feel of this show; I want to see if it will be overly cerebral or something more material and haptic.
variousothers.com/kunstverein-muenchen
Nebyula by Rosa Stern Space e.V. with Eigen+Art Lab, Jonas Höschl, Why Are You Crying?
On the occasion of Various Others, Nebyula will premiere Jonas Höschl’s video work Why Are You Crying?, in a “specially developed mobile presentation space”. Something of an investigation into the affectivness of critical artworks once they enter an art market, the video jests at the extractive nature of capitalist thinking; how capitalism repackages critical movements for fiscal ends.
variousothers.com/nebyula-rosa-stern-space-ev
Britta Rettberg’s two exhibitions: (1) with Dürst Britt & Mayhew, Lennart Lahuis and Paul Valentin, Solid Currents; (2) with Callirrhoë, Nikolas Ventourakis, Unlikely Outcomes. A feast for the eyes, regales us with stories
From afar, I have always enjoyed Britta Rettberg’s exhibition programme. They are one of the few galleries that appeals to my taste for material aliveness; be it video, painting or sculpture the artworks they usually show ‘speak’ all matter of fact, connecting form and critical artistic thinking.
For Various Others, the gallery is mounting two collaborative projects: Solid Currents, Lennart Lahuis and Paul Valentin’s, in collaboration with Dürst Britt & Mayhew gallery (The Hague), and Unlikely Outcomes. A feast for the eyes, regales us with stories, Nikolas Ventourakis’ solo exhibition with Callirrhoë (Athens). Both exhibitions develop with some reference to the archival; the material remains of past civilisations in Solid Currents and the fluidity of meaning and memory held within photographs in Unlikely Outcomes. A feast for the eyes, regales us with stories. More than meek reflective shows both seem to question the very idea of the archival, with artworks that seek to transcend known associations.
variousothers.com/britta-rettberg
space nn, vacancy, curated by Sebastian Quast
From show space to hostel and back again, or back and forth again and again for 20 days. The preview text for this group show reads: “Six bunk beds will be placed in the front room of [space nn], which will serve as night quarters at night and as an exhibition display during the day. Each artist exhibits in the bed in which he/she sleeps at night.” I don’t know what to expect but am curious — is there room at the inn if I want to stay in Munich longer?
Walter Storms Galerie with Galerie Mezzanin, Jean-Marc Bustamante, Gemälde für München
I don’t know Jean-Marc Bustamante’s work, nothing about his biography nor practice. I saw his work, this exhibition, on Various Other’s Instagram. I love-hearted it straight away, then opened my phone’s Google Docs app, adding the show to this long list. I have avoided reading up about Bustamante’s exhibition, Gemälde für München [Painting for Munich, to use my translation]. From the images seen on my phone, I am expecting bold forms conjured through what looks like felt tip; immediate gestures that confuse horticultural design and childhood scribbling. Philosophical fiction or just fun paintings? will share when I see (my Instagram is: @tobyupsonofficial).
variousothers.com/walter-storms-galerie
VO Special, Carrying the Earth to the Sky, curated by Dr. Magdalena Wisniowska
Materialised through a two-stage process, Carrying the Earth to the Sky is a group exhibition that totally embraces Various Others’ collaborative ethos. Stage 1: each of the 37 participants in Various Other nominated one artist currently living in Munich to be part of the exhibition. Stage 2: from this longlist an international jury of curators selected a final 13 to be included in the exhibition. Curated by Dr. Magdalena Wisniowska, Carrying the Earth to the Sky is billed to reflect a desire to see beyond the categorical and the fixed; an exhibition reflective of Munich’s distinctive art scene.
variousothers.com/vo-special
VARIOUS OTHERS, September 5th – 15th,2024, multiple locations.
Opening Weekend: September 5th – 8th, 2024
