Noah Becker – Say it loud!

Berlin. Commissioned by Meet Pablo – totally unsuspecting of what is going to await me in "baketown“, an off-space in Berlin-Schöneberg – I find myself face to face with Noah Becker, a creative wizard. Whether it is music, fashion, interior design, films or even painting – he is everywhere. Today, my objective is to learn something about his painting which started here in his studio and which helped him through a difficult time ...

Arne Quinze – Protest art exquisitely packaged

Belgium, Sint-Martens-Latem. I need to mention that I am visiting an artist today whose works I have never seen live, and which I only know as pictures via an Instagram account. A risky experiment!
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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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Claus Richter – In front of the backdrop, behind the scenes …

Cologne, September 2018. How magical was the installation of his works at Art Cologne’s this year! I was fascinated by their playfully nostalgic, seemingly light-footed aesthetics; these figures, without exception, had awakened an almost childlike spirit of discovery in me. What was it about the devilish figures of the wall-work, holding the pendulum of the grandfather’s clock, grinning at me so provocatively? The wooden silhouette figures, on closer inspection, turned out to be anything but light-footed. Not only was a hand halted, but also time. A cut made for an end or a new beginning. Such interplay, disclosing profound stories against an apparently harmless backdrop, is typical of Claus Richter's art, as I will experience on my visit to the studio today ...

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 ...

Fabian Seyd – Evolution of art

Berlin. In the district Pankow I visit the young artist Fabian Seyd. Seyd, whose work primarily comprises painting, as well as sculptures and installations, was able to book his first museum solo exhibitions in the last two years. A significant step! If an artist succeeds in the museum, this is regarded as a qualified acknowledgment of the artistic achievement. The art is "ennobled", its value increases, the career of those involved takes its course. I would like to learn more about his works, as well as more about his artistic career. I’m supposed to drive to the petrol station, then take a U-turn to the other side of the road and then drive to the “ugliest high-rise” I see. Then I’m in the right place. Really! Truly ugly! But at least identifiable as an artist's house because of the graffiti ...

Jonathan Meese – POWER TO ART!

Berlin, 3. Februar 2017: Nur schemenhaft nehme ich den Gebäudekomplex des stillgelegten Wasserpumpwerks Prenzlauer Berg wahr. Zu sehr bin ich damit beschäftigt, die Sprechanlage zu hypnotisieren, nachdem ich – einmal tief durchatmend – den Klingelknopf gedrückt habe. Das fröhliche: „Hallo. Kommt rein!“, lässt mich aufatmen. Das Tor wird elektrisch geöffnet ...