Carolin Eidner – Lasting impact …

Berlin, Dusseldorf. There are exhibitions which – although they succeed in immediately causing the viewer to react emotionally – irritate, and stimulate a closer involvement only when reflecting on them. This happened at the visit to the solo show of Carolin Eidner at Galerie Aurel Scheibler in Berlin.

Philipp Humm – Faust as Gesamtkunstwerk of the 21st century?

London, film premiere of The Last Faust. Both the trailer and even just a brief look at Philipp Humm's Gesamtkunstwerk*, his total work of art (graphics, photography, oil painting and sculpture) which now comprises one hundred and fifty works, astonished me beyond belief. Yet what I see today in the cinema hall and will see in his studio tomorrow is absolutely beyond my expectations. A fascinating mix of surreal, bizarre, comical yet also oppressively visionary images draws me directly into a cinematic future of the world. A world, where artificial intelligence has taken control over planet Earth ...
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Zander Blom – The Bad Reviews

Cape Town. If this is not a true artist studio again! Works on paper drying on a washing line strung across the room, large-format canvases, side by side, waiting to be finished, piles of books, paint tins and endless numbers of crayons competing for floor space, while sketches, printouts and pages torn from magazines cover the tables. I am in the studio of Zander Blom, whose wild and explosive painting, at first glance, appears to be as naively playful as this room ...
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Marion Fink – Why am I flying on a giant rock through space?

Potsdam. Today's studio visit takes me to Marion Fink, an artist, who caught the attention not only of current top galleries in Germany, but also of international galleries. Her remarkable paintings will be shown in London and New York before the end of this year. I want to find out what makes these paintings so special. Her studio – situated in a quiet street in a leafy part of Potsdam - is in a former Kindergarten that was transformed into a studio building. An austere stair case, an equally austere communal office in front of her studio, but then .... wow!
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Hakan Eren – The waker-upper-stage

Walkabout in the Düsseldorfer Akademie, Class of Katharina Fritsch. Hakan Eren is on the verge of his final exam. Clearly nervous, he tinkers with the final details of his presentation. Here, the term "tinker" hits the nail on the head. The creations mounted on the walls spontaneously remind me of technoid construction models for advanced hobbyists in a toy shop of a long gone era.

Tamara K.E. – Random Data, coded in human systems

Düsseldorf. Visiting art fairs is exciting. At least in the beginning. Then, at some stage, it starts to become tiring because one can feel one's concentration going. Many a good art work is then simply missed, unless .... Stop! Put on the brakes. A work of art or an entire presentation unfold a presence from which one cannot escape. This happened in Vienna, during the presentation of works by Tamara K.E. at last year's viennacontemporary.

Wim Botha – Nothing is as it seems

Cape Town. The Heliostat exhibition at the Norval Foundation had impressed me so much that I wanted to meet the artist personally. Here, Wim Botha's work, which regularly attracts attention also at international exhibitions, was showcased in a huge solo show. I am very excited when I drive to Kommetjie to visit the artist in his studio . . .
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Eva und Adele – A total artwork from the future

Who hasn't seen them anywhere before? Their appearance simply attracts everyone's attention. Always dressed identically in bright, ladylike costumes, heavily made-up and with shaved heads, they usually only advance a few metres during their visits to the art fairs and events all over the world. All the time someone asks them for a photo. Since nearly 30 years you almost never hear them say "no". EVA & ADELE pose and smile - and that all the time. The smile is an essential component of their performance FUTURING, which dissolves any border between public and private. Only a few people know that this performance is accompanied by an impressive collection of paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, films and costumes and is represented in well-known museums and collections all over the world. The exhibition L'AMOUR DU RISQUE at me Collectors Room Berlin deals retrospectively with their complete work. An opportunity for me to meet them there ...