Exhibition
Walking Through Walls
Jose Dávila, "Untitled (Allure)", 2014 © Jose Dávila & VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2019, Photo: Enrique Macías Martínez, courtesy: the artist & König Galerie
Walking Through Walls marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, one of the most symbolic events of the 20th century, interrogating the experience of vulnerability and anxiety caused by power structures that thrive on confinement and segregation.
Not too long ago, the fall of the Wall was one of the most salient symbols of twentieth-century utopianism. More recently, however, the surge in extreme nationalism and polarising populism have given way to more divisive ideologies. Walking Through Walls is, therefore, a timely response to the current moment whereby the Berlin Wall is extended beyond its German particularity, becoming instead an entry point into critical reflection on the impact of having to live with divisions, both real and metaphorical.
The exhibition brings together 28 international artists and covers a wide variety of media including painting, sculpture, photography, film, sound installation, site-specific interventions and performance. It is conceived as one comprehensive, non-linear experience, constructed around three interwoven lines of inquiry. The first brings together works that explore the physical presence of walls and how they function as sites of separation. The second reflects on the impact that physical and metaphorical walls have on those who live with them. The third portrays the struggles to overcome existing divisions. In addition, the exhibition directly references the historically charged location of the Gropius Bau. Many symbolic sites are in its direct vicinity, or even visible from the exhibition galleries themselves, including a fragment of the Berlin Wall.
With works by Marina Abramović and Ulay, José Bechara, Sibylle Bergemann, Tagreed Darghouth, Jose Dávila, Willie Doherty, Smadar Dreyfus, Melvin Edwards, Dara Friedman, Dora García, Zahrah Al Ghamdi, Mona Hatoum, Nadia Kaabi-Linke, Michael Kvium, Gustav Metzger, Reem Al Nasser, Christian Odzuck, Emeka Ogboh, Anri Sala, Fred Sandback, Aki Sasamoto, Regina Silveira, Siska, Javier Téllez, Samson Young, Yuan Yuan, Héctor Zamora
Opening “Walking Through Walls”. Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
Photo: Luca Girardini
Mona Hatoum, A Pile of Bricks III, 2019; Michael Kvium, Beach of Plenty, 2017; Aki Sasamoto, Phase Transition, 2019; Do Nut Diagram, 2018. Installation view Walking Through Walls, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
Photo: Mathias Völzke
Smadar Dreyfus, Mother’s Day, 2006–2008. 3-channel HD video, 6-channel sound environment, specially designed architecture.15 min on loop Installation view Walking Through Walls, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
Photo: Jens Ziehe, courtesy the artist
Dora García, Two Planets Have Been Collid-ing for Thousands of Years, 2017. Installation view Walking Through Walls, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
© Dora García, photo: Luca Girardini
Javier Téllez, Shadow Play, 2014. Installation view Walking Through Walls, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
Photo: Luca Girardini, courtesy: the artist & Galerie Peter Kilchmann
Jose Dávila, Untitled (Allure), 2014. Installation view Walking Through Walls, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
© Jose Dávila & VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2019, photo: Luca Girardini, courtesy: the artist & König Galerie
Dara Friedman, Whip Whipping the Wall, 1998–2002. Installation view Walking Through Walls, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
Photo: Luca Girardini, courtesy: the artist & Galleria Massimo Minini & Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York/ Rom
Regina Silveira, Intro 2 (Irruption Series), 2019. Installation view Walking Through Walls, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
Photo: Luca Girardini, courtesy: the artist
Reem Al Nasser, Outside Inside, 2019. Installation view Walking Through Walls, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
Photo: Luca Girardini, Courtesy: the artist and Athr Gallery, Jeddah
Siska, LATENT BORDER(S), 2019; Yuan Yuan, Free fall; Darkness that goes away 2018. Installation view Walking Through Walls, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
Photo: Luca Girardini, courtesy: the artist
Tagreed Darghouth, Vision Machines; Shall You See Me Better Now?, 2019. Installation view Walking Through Walls, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
Photo: Luca Girardini, courtesy: the artist & Saleh Barakat Gallery
Nadia Kaabi-Linke, All Along the Watchtower, 2012 / 2014 / 2019. Installation view Walking Through Walls, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
Photo: Timo Kaabi-Linke, courtesy: the artist
Curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath
Funded by
Part of BerlinArt Week
Kindly supported by MontblancCultural Foundation
Partners: BerlinerStadtwerke, ALEXA, Dussmann, Bouvet
Media partners: Tagesspiegel, Monopol, MADAME, MousseMagazine, FluxFM, Cleverdis