Benand Sebastian
Sophie Calle
Elmgreen & Dragset
Thomas Florschuetz
Thilo Frank
Cyprien Gaillard
Helen Mirra
Jeppe Hein
Jacob Kirkegaard
Jakob Kolding
Soren Lose
Simon Dybbroe Moller
Jesper Rasmussen
Agathe Snow
Wolfgang Tillmans
The urban attraction and stories of the Berlin experience are shared by the artists in the exhibition. It includes works by Sophie Calle, Elmgreen & Dragset, Jesper Rasmussen and Jacob Kirkegaard.
Berlin is a must for anyone involved in contemporary art. Artists from all over the world flock there, drawn by
the city’s diversity, pace, comparatively low rents and international scene.
The "Treffpunkt : Berlin" exhibition presents a selection of Danish and international contemporary art by
artists who all have a strong attachment to Berlin.
ARKEN director Christian Gether says, “At ARKEN you can explore the city’s narratives. The exhibition embodies
Berlin’s magnetic effect on artists, painting a fragmented picture of the raw, intoxicating city and its importance as a
concrete and conceptual source of inspiration.”
The exhibition lets you experience world-class work, including the world premiere of works by such respected
artists as Sophie Calle, Elmgreen & Dragset, Jesper Rasmussen and Jacob Kirkegaard.
Mental Circuits
Contemporary art from Berlin speaks of unique and existential urban experiences. “Poor but sexy,” Berlin
mayor Klaus Wowereit once described his city, relating its powerful attraction to young, aspiring artists with
little money in their pockets.
The urban attraction and stories of the Berlin experience are shared by the artists in the exhibition. Their
stories are as much about playgrounds, freedom, presence and tolerance as about voids, filth, absence and
phantom pains. What they all have in common is the experience of myriad mental circuits continuously giving
life to artistic creativity.
The exhibition thematizes the experience of the city in photography, installation, sculpture, neon lights, collage,
sound and video. It documents how artists continue to be inspired by the city’s historical and architectural
reality, highlighting unique stories of the city’s structured chaos. At the same time, their work investigates the
utopias linked to Berlin’s unique synthesis of past and present.
The participating artists are Benand Sebastian (UK/Denmark), Sophie Calle (France), Elmgreen & Dragset
(Denmark/Norway), Thomas Florschuetz (Germany), Thilo Frank (Germany), Cyprien Gaillard (France), Helen
Mirra (US), Jeppe Hein (Denmark), Jacob Kirkegaard (Denmark), Jakob Kolding (Denmark), Søren Lose
(Denmark), Simon Dybbroe Møller (Denmark), Jesper Rasmussen (Denmark), Agathe Snow (France) and
Wolfgang Tillmans (Germany).
The richly illustrated catalogue to the exhibition features a foreword by ARKEN director Christian Gether, an
introduction to the exhibition by curator Naja Rasmussen, essays by four of the participating artists and one
artist duo, discussing a place in Berlin that is particularly inspiring to them, along with new poetry by the writers
Ursula Andkjær Olsen, Palle Sigsgaard and René Jean Jensen. The exhibition also comes with a mobile phone
app that provides additional information about the works, while locating them at their physical or mental place
of origin in Berlin.
Thanks to their highly specific approach to Berlin, the catalogue and app can be used as an alternative
guidebook you can bring along when you visit the German capital.
The exhibition is supported by Nordea-fonden and Augustinus Fonden.
Image: Elmgreen & Dragset, Sketch for Lowered Goals, 2012
For additional information, please contact
Marie-Louise Dunker, Head of Communications, at tel. +45 4087 2747 or marielouise.dunker@arken.dk
Karin Ulstrup, PR & Online, at tel. +45 6118 9818 or karin.ulstrup@arken.dk
Opening Sat 12 May
Arken Museum of Modern Art
Skovvej 100, Ishoj
Tues-Sun 10-17, Wed 10-21