Interview: Berlin Art Link

I haven't had the chance to do an interview in quite a while, so I am really excited that my first one is with the founders of an organization that I love. I recently had the opportunity to talk to the ladies from Berlin Art Link.  From time to time I have the opportunity to contribute articles to and make editing suggestions on their website. This interview comes just in time for the "Official Launch of the Berlin Art Link Travel Program" during Berlin Art Week in conjunction with their 1 year anniversary. Please enjoy our conversation and take the time to explore their animated and informative website: http://www.berlinartlink.com

Explain Berlin Art Link in 1 sentence

We are an online magazine, as well as an art marketing, travel and events company focused on highlighting the Berlin art scene and connecting international individuals and groups to the network of art professionals and resources available in the city.

Why Berlin?


Berlin has become one of the most important European cities for contemporary art and has a highly influential presence internationally. It’s acreative city with unique social and economic factors that allow for the emergence of young and experimental artists. Although the city has developeddrastically in the last 10-15 years, it’s emerging urban landscape is endlessly interesting. We are committed to fostering this exciting culturalmoment.


How do you work?


We actively engage in the art scene by attending openings, exhibitions, events, and through visiting artists’ studios. We also have partnered with many international media partners and contacts to connect our content to an international audience and vice-versa. This keeps us knowledgeable about the latest trends, attitudes and opinions of the local art professionals, buyers and enthusiasts from a ground level perspective. We post our daily blogs, weekly selected exhibition listings, “Based in Berlin: Artist Studio Visits” series, articles and interviews in order to present and encourage interaction and exchange with the city's current creative activities that we find interesting and relevant to our audience. The magazine, as well as coordinating our own art exhibitions and events, keeps us engaged with the Berlin art scene, creating a strong network and specialized knowledge for us to then offer informed and valuable consulting services in both Art Travel and in Marketing in regards to the Berlin and international art world.


What are your backgrounds?


Monica Salazar: I’m originally from Texas. Before moving to Berlin, I was a corporate event planner, producing conferences, meetings and events internationally for corporate clients. However, I also assisted in coordinating and executing events for the Dallas Art Dealer's Association and Nasher Sculpture Museum outside of my normal work week. This stimulated my strong interest in wanting to shift my career to an art environment, and ultimately towards wanting to move to Berlin and work in the contemporary art industry. My sister has lived in Berlin for 16 years, so I was familiar with the city and thought, if I’m going to make a change now, I might as well move to one of the art capitals of the world and immerse myself quickly in order to find my niche. The Berlin Art Link Travel Program is a niche combination of my past experience in travel and event planning and Berlin Art Link's established network of art and tourism contacts in Berlin.


Anna Russ: I’m from Bielefeld, Germany. I studied history, sociology and literature in Paris and at the Freie Universität Berlin. After my studies, I started working for the state museum, Kunstbibliothek Berlin, and opened Kim Bar with 3 friends. Later, I became assistant curator at Hunchentoot Galerie (Mitte). Monica and I quickly became friends in 2009 when she, by chance, stopped in Hunchentoot during a visit right before she moved here. When I returned back from Italy on vacation last year, she presented the idea about Berlin Art Link to me and asked if I would be interested in partnering with her. Immediately, I said yes, because I saw a great opportunity to work with Monica on this multifaceted project and to help develop it on the basis of my past work experience.


Clare Ros: I’m originally from Indiana and moved to Berlin in August 2010, shortly thereafter meeting Monica and Anna through a mutual friend. I came here on a Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) Graduate Fellowship to study at the Institute for Art in Context at Universität der Künste Berlin. After meeting the girls and learning about BAL, I immediately thought it would be a great opportunity to become involved and acquainted with the city’s creative community. I also saw this collaboration as a possible resource through which I could connect my independent research and projects to a wider audience, while helping others do the same. So far I think the collaboration has worked out quite well between us, because we all have similar interests, but come from diverse backgrounds with different approaches, so we learn from one another.


Teaming with BAL was also a natural move for me because it allows my interests to coalesce. I’ve always been interested in art, and was exposed to the gallery side when I was young because my father was an artist who later ran an art gallery. My formal design education started at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago where I received a BFA, followed by an M.Arch from Ball State University. My professional experience includes architectural design, visual merchandising, marketing, public relations, and curatorial work. In the context of Berlin Art Link I contribute to web, graphic design, articles, and conceptual development of exhibitions and products.


Why do you do what you do?


We realized there is a major disconnect exists between Berlin-based creative professionals and accessibility to outside markets and vice-versa. A surplus of artists reside here that proportionally outnumber the collectors, art buyers, publications, etc. And while there are, of course, great numbers of people coming into the city for the purpose of art, navigating the scene can at times prove overwhelming and easily misguided. In general, there are noticeable gaps in information about the Berlin art community available online, as presented to outside markets in ways that facilitate connecting people, ideas and projects. Our focus is to provide a vivid picture of what is actively happening locally and extend accessibility to this network on an international level. We believe the cultivation of this creative environment is invaluably something worth promoting.


What information is Berlin Art Link interested in sharing?


Our aim is to share our enthusiasm for contemporary artwork and practices that prove compelling, inspirational, and provocative. However, we do this differently than most publications. We present our content in an accessible way, extending the feeling of a personal introduction between our audience and the artists, curators, gallerists and other art professionals that we present through our website. We pull the same concept through to our events and business services. Thankfully, Berlin is a city where we have endless art-related events and exhibitions to discuss, as well as a constant influx of emerging and established artists to reference that reflect the creative and thriving international culture of the city. In regards to art tourism, we have a Travel Program that is catered towards collectors, curators, gallerists and museum patron groups. It includes luxury hotel accommodations, Suggestion Lists to galleries, museums, nightlife and restaurants, as well as Customized Itineraries according to the guests' goals and objectives of their visit. The itineraries can include, among other things, artist studio visits, customized art and architecture tours, private collection tours, private dinners or cocktail hours at unique art venues (networking or leisure), exclusive access to special events, and chauffeured airport and city transfers.


The program serves as a much-needed filter for the large array of exhibitors, social events, and local exhibitions, resulting in a more focused and rewarding experience. With personalized itineraries, tailored in consultation with guests, invitations to openings and access to private collections, guests are provided an exclusive and more enjoyable visit.




For Berlin Art Link Travel Program pricing and availability, email Berlin Art link at travel@berlinartlink.com or visit the Travel Program Website: http://www.berlinartlink.com/about/2011-travel-program-berlin-art-week/

New Year, New art:SAGE Resolutions

Happy New Year! 


I know, I know, it's a little delayed. However, there is good reason for that. Why, you may ask? Well, this year started out with a bang for me.


For starters, I became the editor and remained a contributing writer for Berlin Art Link. If you haven't taken the time to look into Berlin Art Link then you are missing out on having the facts on the Berlin art scene at your fingertips. If you want to find out more about what Berlin Art Link is, I will have an interview posted later this month.


In other great news, I was hired for a temporary position at the Nasher Sculpture Center. The Nasher is one of my favorite museums in Dallas both because of it's amazing collection and because of the wonderful architecture of the building and sculpture garden. The building and garden were designed by Renzo Piano and Peter Walker, respectively. Renzo Piano also happened to design the Fondation Beyeler in Basel.


I am also settling into living in the United States again after being away for nearly three years. It is kind of exciting "discovering" Dallas again. So much has changed, especially in the arts. So I plan to focus the month of February on the renovation of the arts district and the proliferation of the art scene in Dallas.


Be on the lookout for these and all other posts in the future!

Recap: Art Basel Miami

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post, but in the meantime I have made the move across the ocean back to Texas. After a short reunion (and break) for the Thanksgiving holiday, it was off to Miami for the most important collection of art fairs in North America. 


There were many things going on and I took in a lot of art. So, in this post, I will just very quickly try to recap the central fair Art Basel Miami, the sister counterpart to Art Basel. 


The main event was at the convention center in South Beach. Much like those I have described for Basel, Berlin, and Turin, the fair is a winding labyrinth of white wall gallery sets. There were many images caught my attention. Too many to show in a few blogs. I also noticed, perhaps because of my personal interest in the area, that the Latin American community is showing up more and more at these fairs. Enjoy!


If you would like to know more about the events in Miami, check out my collaborative article on Berlin Art Link. Where I recently became the editor, so keep checking out the site to keep up with the emerging Berlin art scene. 

Bernd Ribbeck, Galerie Kamm, Berlin

Untitled, 2010, acrylic, pigment marker / mdf, 35 x 35 cm

Untitled, 2010, acrylic, ball point pen, pigment marker / mdf, 30 x 40 cm

Ross Bleckner, Lehmann Maupin, New York

Overexpression, 1998, oil on linen, 84 x 72 inches

Jesus Rafael Soto, Sicardi, Houston

Guitar Sonata, 1959, Acrylic on masonite with black wire, 17 1/2 x 17 3/4 inches

Ivan Navarron, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York

Reality Show (Black), 2010, LED light, aluminum, wood, mirror, one-way mirror, and electric energy, 92 x 45 x 45 inches

Anthony James, Patrick Painter Editions, Santa Monica

Birch, 2010, birch aluminium, glass, fluorescent lights

Mondongo, Ruth Benzacar, Buenos Aires

Lo que temes te sucederá, 2010, Stickers, plasticine, thread and wood, 256 x 334 x 11,4 cm

Recap: Art Forum Berlin

Okay, you guys know the drill we these posts. Enjoy the work. It left an impression or I would not have photographed it!

Here are my picks from Art Forum Berlin!

 

Florian Slotawa, SG.06.1; SG.06.2; SG.06.3; SG.06.4, 2010

Sies + Hoke Galerie, Dusseldorf, Germany

Thomas Hirschhorn, Woodchain IV (The little Mermaid), 2004

Alfonso Artiaco, Naples, Italy

 

 

Douglas Gordon, 2010

I Am The Director Of My Own Downfall

I Am The Author Of My Own Addictions

Yvon Lambert, Paris (FR) and New York (USA)

Christian Hoischen, Rücken, 2010

Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin, Germany

 

Oliver Voss

Galerie Eva Winkeler, Frankfurt and Koln (DE)

Exhibition Review: Fondazione Pomodoro, Milan

View of 1st Floor of Exhibition (f.l.t.r.): 

Corrafo Bonomi Non omnis moriar (1997); Laura Renna Stormo vulgaris (2010);

Fabrizio Corneli Grande Volante VIII (2002); Gianni Dessi Confini 1 (2009)

Paolo Delle Monache Archeologia di un istante (2010)

Fabrizio Corneli Grande Volante VIII (2002)

Gehard Demetz Hitler Mao (2010)

Bertozzi & Casoni Madonna scheletrita (2008)

Loris Cecchini Wallwave Vibrations (quanta canticum) (2009)

I would have to say that this month has been a great time for me to really push myself into going to art events that have been outside my typical comfort zone. So why does the exhibition "The Italian Sculpture of the XXI Century" at the Fondazione Pomodoro fit into this?  

Simple. I am a 2-D girl. It's a sad fact, but that is the work I usually find easier to interpret and am most quickly drawn to. 


Of course, this is not true 100% of the time. There are plenty of sculptures that I have loved since my first art history courses at University of Dallas. However, I always found it easier to write about 2-D work, because in the university setting these images were better transmitted from pages of an art history book or the slide projector in class. Sculptures and installations lose most of their value in this forum. 

What was even more exciting was the rarity of attending an exhibition where I was in awe of so many diverse sculptures and installations. In fact, the entire execution of the show exceeded my expectations. The show, which officially began on the 20th of October and ends on the 20th of January, displayed the most contemporary and recent sculptures and installations by 80 Italian artists.

The Fondazione Pomodoro's architecture adds to the splendor of presenting the works in a space that truly celebrates 3-D works of art, both small and large. This interplay of scale was well balanced in the exhibition and an obvious consideration when viewing contrasting works such as Fabrizio Corneli's Grande Volante VIII (2002) and Paolo Delle Monache's Archeologia de un istante (2010). 

Political themes were also considered in works that presented tyrannical leadership by few and the corrosive pollution by many, as respectively portrayed in Gehard Demetz's Hitler Mao (2010) and Bertozzi and Casoni's Madonna Scheletrita (2008). I was particularly fond of Demetz's work, as I had met the Galerie Rubin’s owners (who loaned this work to the exhibition) in Berlin at Preview Berlin. I will talk more about this and Berlin in my upcoming Recaps. 


Madonna Scheletrita in particular allowed for some interesting conversations between me and some Sicilian friends with who had I had been accompanied to the show. It was nice discussing contemporary art with people who come from completely opposite professional spheres from me (and each other). 

Perhaps the piece that I would want to own was Loris Cecchini's Wallwave Vibrations (Quanto Canticum) (2009), because, in the plainest terms, I thought it was a really visually interesting piece. I just liked it. 


Many times, art is as easy as that. 

Exhibition Review: Berlin

Hey guys, check out my latest exhibition review on Feinkost an art gallery in Berlin. I just became a contributing writer for my friends at Berlin Art Link's, I will tell you more about their company in a few weeks. In the meantime, check out their website!