Berlin: Still poor, but sexy

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Twelve years after the former mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, declared his city “poor but sexy”, his portrayal has proven to be emblematic of the Berlin art market. Whilst today more than 20,000 artists have taken up residence on the banks of the river Spree, along with more than 450 galleries, Berlin gathers a mere 6% of the world’s collectors. H A P P E N I N G investigates how Berlin’s “poor, but sexy” approach to today’s art world functions.

Free to create and to explore


Beyond attractive prices and large spaces, Berlin is also renowned for not putting a straightjacket on society as other large cities like London or Paris have been known to do. In Berlin, 40% of the 3.2 million inhabitants live on social aid, and it is not considered taboo. Poverty is not considered an embarrassment, but a lifestyle. Indeed, a pilgrimage to Kreuzberg or Neukölln has become de rigueur among today’s European hipsters. The German capital offers a way of life distanced from materialistic worries, where artists are free to create, destruct and recreate their work without hindrance. The legendary exhibition “37 Räume,” organised in the 1990s in a building in Mitte, still remains in the city’s collective consciousness.

In the simplest of terms, Berlin is a city with abundant creativity and a realm of possibilities. Little by little, an ecosystem is establishing itself, finding structure, and tentatively becoming known on the international scene. There are around 200 unofficial art spaces in Berlin, whilst the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum sits in its former train station turned-museum, reconverted in 1996 and bought up by advertising magnate Christian Boros in 2003. His space now presents one of the most beautiful collections of contemporary art in Germany. Yet among this seemingly unstructured artistic scene there exists the National Gallery Prize for Young Art, whose laureate is rewarded with an exhibition at the Hamburger Bahnhof. Could this be Germany’s Marcel Duchamp Prize? Maybe. Celebrating young Berlin-based creation, winners have included Cyprien Gaillard from France (2011) and Mexican artist Mariana Castillo Deball (2013), both long-term residents of Berlin.

HAPPENING

German efficiency


All German fine art schools are financed by the state and are managed within each Länder, in accordance with the country’s federal structure. This organization remains probably one of the best assets for young creation in the country. Schools and Kunsthalles forge collective networks, permitting young artists to gain international visibility early in their careers. Furthermore, the Artist-in-Residence programmes managed by the German Office for Academic Exchange (DAAD) are among the most reputable in the world. The list of artists who have participated in these programmes forms a sort of who’s-who of the contemporary art scene, from Damien Hirst to Janet Cardiff, Cyprien Gaillard and Artur Zmijewski.
 

Is the market the weak link?


There is no doubt about the artistic wealth of Berlin or its international network. Its only challenge is commercial. Herein lies the paradox of Berlin: if the art market today resembles that of the luxury industry, can it be compatible with a rather financially unprosperous area?

Of course, there still remain galleries that have existed since pre-1989. These stalwarts are mostly situated near the Savignyplatz, such as Galerie Michael Hass, founded in 1976, or Galerie Fahnemann, created in 1982. However, since the wall fell, many galleries have taken up residence on Auguststrasse and more generally in the Mitte area, such as Camera Work, Galerie Fuchs or EIGEN + ART Lab. More recently, in 2013, Kewenig Galerie left Cologne to move to Berlin’s Museumsinsel, following in the footsteps of Sprüth Magers Gallery ten years prior. Michael Kenwing, upon the opening of his gallery, told us that he found Berlin to be a “melting pot,” speaking of the “effervescence” that reigned over Cologne in the 1990s. Galleries have since succumbed to the call of Berlin in great numbers and with great boldness, one shining example being Neugerriemschneider transporting six tonnes of Icelandic ice for the exhibition “Your waste of time” by Olafur Eliasson in 2006.

Can Berlin’s enthusiasm translate into real figures?


“Money is everywhere in Germany, except in Berlin,” Johann Nowak, Director of DNA gallery tells us. It must be noted however that according to Larry’s List 28% of German collectors are based in Berlin. In Germany, money is in Frankfurt, Dusseldorf or Cologne, but rarely makes it as far as Berlin. As for those from neighboring countries, they head for more reputable European or global markets. This phenomenon has become even more pronounced since 2009’s financial crisis. The renowned CFA (Contemporary Fine Arts) has only very gradually begun to regain its progressive pre-crisis activity. In order to compensate for weak demand, local dealers have begun to look beyond their country’s borders. In 2014, Germany, thanks to its Berlin-based galleries, was the third-most represented country at the FIAC with 26 galleries, and the second at various Art Basel events. Nevertheless, more modestly-sized galleries have put together an ensemble of events organized in the city (gallery weekend, Berlin Biennale) in order to stimulate the local market and attract collectors.    


In recent years, the city has seen several of its artists find great international success, including Alicja Kwade, Cyprien Gaillard and Olafur Eliasson. But as these artists, marked by their time spent in Berlin, leave it behind, what will become of it? Will the city enter into a new era? Or will its fate lead it to become the springboard for a new generation?

The Berlin-based fair ABC (Art Berlin Contemporary) is emblematic of this “poor, but sexy” atmosphere: a relatively young event marked by the influence of Arte Povera, installations unconfined to delineated spaces, deconstructed architecture, prestigious galleries rubbing shoulders with galleries totally unknown to the general public, collectors, curators and journalists from Germany and across the globe welcomed by food trucks… yet will this year’s edition finally bring noteworthy sales?