Based in Berlin

An exhibition presents the work of 80 emerging artists, selected by eight curators, living and working in Berlin.

Can art change the world? Certainly, though not always for the better. The divisive nature of Berlin's mayoral reelection-bid project brings up the question. And offers the answer.

But let's rewind for a bit of context. Based in Berlin started as a Leistungsschau, which roughly translates to performance show, to be held in a vacant lot at Humboldthafen, in which Klaus Wowereit, the city's mayor, sought build a new temporary Kunsthalle. With a budget of 1.6 million euros, and under the curatorial direction of Klaus Biesenbach (Museum of Modern Art, New York), Hans Ulrich Obrist (Serpentine Gallery), and Christine Macel (Centre Pompidou), who swiftly delegated their task to five younger curators, the project quickly turned into a cause célèbre.

Clearly, the call for a new art center had more to do with real estate than with art. Or better put, it was a project in which art was to be stripped down to the fundamentals of its economic function: the forefront of gentrification. Plus the budget seemed outrageous in a city usually starved of funding.

Opening Photo: Simon Dybbroe Møller, <i>Melody Malady</i>, 2010. The Nationalgalerie im Hamburger Bahnhof performance. Courtesy of Harris Lieberman and Galerie Kamm. Above: Simon Fujiwara, <i>Phallusies (An Arabian Mystery)</i>, 2010. Installation at the Berlinische Galerie. Courtesy of Gio Marconi. — Opening Photo: Simon Dybbroe Møller, *Melody Malady*, 2010. The Nationalgalerie im Hamburger Bahnhof performance. Courtesy of Harris Lieberman and Galerie Kamm. Above: Simon Fujiwara, *Phallusies (An Arabian Mystery)*, 2010. Installation at the Berlinische Galerie. Courtesy of Gio Marconi.

True, art's recent history has been intertwined with real estate at least since abstract expressionism's over-sized canvases ignited the desire for loft living. It is also true that all Europeans capitals are being remade for the benefit of the leisure class. Yet, Berlin's recent history makes it all the more vulnerable. The city's art institutions and local artistic community responded with fierce opposition, the backlash of which shaped the project's outcome. Humboldthafen was abandoned in favor of the former studio pavilion of the Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin in the Monbijoupark; and the project sought to absorb dissent by inviting its former critics to partake in the exhibition.

Julius Delvè, <i>Hotel Triton</i>, 2010. Installation at Atelierhaus Monbijoupark. Courtesy the artist and Supportico Lopez. — Julius Delvè, *Hotel Triton*, 2010. Installation at Atelierhaus Monbijoupark. Courtesy the artist and Supportico Lopez.

Much to their credit, the young curatorial team—Angelique Campens, Fredi Fischli, Magdalena Magiera, Jakob Schillinger and Scott Cameron Weaver—managed to turn the bone of contention into a success story. The show is impeccably staged, has major visibility and approving press. However, no amount of good will and effort can change the fact that Based in Berlin—a show which, with the sum total of eight curatorial heads, has the biggest curator pro artists ratio which one can recall—hardly requires curating at all. With 'emerging artists' who are 'based' in the city as guidelines, a cultural programmer would suffice to put together the recipe consisting of some rising stars (like Danh Vo, Kitty Kraus, and Cyprien Gaillard, who are all nominated for the next Nationalgalerie prize; Petrit Halilaj, whom the last Berlin Biennale gave major recognition; or Simon Fujiwara and Keren Cytter); a coterie of household names; a handful of wild shots; and a couple of token artists.

The show is impeccably staged, has major visibility and approving press. However, no amount of good will and effort can change the fact that Based in Berlin hardly requires curating at all.

Installation by Rocco Berger at Atelierhaus Monbijoupark.

Despite some provoking works, the mood is suave. There is no common narrative, just a myriad of small stories; inasmuch as there are no strong motives, just an assortment of motifs, sprawling through the exhibition venues. Simon Fujiwara's cross-breed mystery novel and memory experiment Phallusies (2010) stands out, as does Julieta Aranda's There is a heppy lend– fur fur awa-a-ay (2011), a curious construction with even curiouser shape-shifting abilities when seen in the dark. The room curated by the Autocenter, infuses some pathos in an otherwise tame exhibition ethos. It's like déjà vu all over again (2011) is not a comment, though it would be fitting, but a playful sculpture by Kasia Fudakowski. Yorgos Sapountzis, Agnieszka Polska, Juliane Solmsdorf, Nina Beier and David Adamo's works are also all worth mentioning. Yet as Kajsa Dahlberg, who summons Virginia Woolf, makes manifest: "masterpieces are not single and solitary things; they are the result of many years of thinking in common, of thinking by the body of the people." That body, the social body, is missing from this celebration of the city as a haven for individual mobility. In the soon to be demolished Monbijoupark pavilion (the faith of every DDR landmark), Based in Berlin appears as a paradoxical object, both a swan song for Berlin as cultural utopia, and a thrust for Berlin as a cultural center.

Kajsa Dahlberg, <i>Ein Zimmer für sich / Ein eigenes Zimmer / Ein Zimmer für sich allein / Vierhundertdreiunddreißig Bibliotheken</i>. Installation at Atelierhaus Monbijoupark. — Kajsa Dahlberg, *Ein Zimmer für sich / Ein eigenes Zimmer / Ein Zimmer für sich allein / Vierhundertdreiunddreißig Bibliotheken*. Installation at Atelierhaus Monbijoupark.

Mariechen Danz at Atelierhaus Monbijoupark.

David Adamo, <i>Untitled</i>, 2010. KW Institute for Contemporary Art. — David Adamo, *Untitled*, 2010. KW Institute for Contemporary Art.

Based in Berlin

An exhibition presents the work of 80 emerging artists, selected by eight curators, living and working in Berlin.

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