Bored of happy art? Welcome to Berlin
Artworks breathe here, they are not crammed into pen-like stands, neither are they dictated by the underlying ‘must have’ dogma present at other fairs. At ABC visitors feel free to contemplate large-scale installations, and it’s not only museums and mega-collectors who can realistically acquire pieces. For example Brazilian artist Marilia Furman’s exhibition is a beautiful, poetic installation at PSM Gallery, on sale for around €6,000. Elsewhere Jeanno Gaussi presents Save Our Souls at Koal Gallery, a playful, stylish installation reflecting on history and current affairs.
But don’t be fooled..
Beyond these monumental installations, the video works on offer certainly wouldn’t be out of place in a family home. Other highlights include Jordine Voigt’s new work on offer at König Galerie, text pieces which gives depth to his work on paper available for €60,000 to €120,000 each. Ai Weiwei too has on offer some rather accessible pieces such as his made-to-measure steel carpet, at Magician Space it is down to you to assemble the different elements in order to create your own carpet, the only rule, each element is sold in a group of five priced at €20,000. Edition Société went even further — the gallery asked each of its artists to create an object that is marketed as a single product: notebooks, perfumes, posters, raincoats. The most chic is an ephemeral installation by Alicja Kwade that starts with a block of necklaces, each of which is sold one by one for €2,000 to €24,000.
Architecture firm June14 Meyer-Grohbrügge & Chermayeff made their first appearance at ABC this year, creating the stands. It is a great shame that they seem not to have captured the subtlety of ABC’s pre-commercial booth-less arena with their addition of great towering divisions.
Jorinde Voigt — Konig Galerie
